Through The Fade: My Journey in Thedas
by discipledark
Summary: Some being wanted power and decided I would be a tool to get it. I join Hawke on her adventures with an unlikely ally to help me along the way. Caress found me in the fade and showed more compassion then most people but is it just a piece in some larger plot. Why am I here? I don't know but I intend to make the most of it. (F)Hawke/SI. S/I Rated T for now
1. Chapter 1: Into The Fade

**Through The Fade**

My dream that night was unusual to say the least. The landscape I traversed was foggy with random things appearing and then disappearing just as suddenly. The weirdest part was that this didn't feel like a dream. My thoughts were my own. I could go where I chose. For all intents and purposes I was _**here**_. Physically _**here**_. Wherever _**here**_ was.

That's not to say I didn't have an idea but it couldn't be right. Could it? There was no way this was the Fade. Magic doesn't exist in our world. Right?

I continued walking though the foggy landscape while my thoughts plagued me. What could this possibly mean? Am I a mage? Do I actually have the ability to wield fire? I decided to try a little experiment since there was nothing better to do while I tried to navigate this place. Since I had no formal training of any kind I simply tried to picture fire in my hands. That worked as well as one might expect. No matter how hard or much I tried I couldn't produce a flame. As best I could figure I wasn't a mage or I was too attached to what I could and couldn't do.

Yeah, I really want to be a mage. Think about how cool it would be. It would certainly beat my own life back home where it seems like everything is out of my hands. Yeah, I'm definitely getting ahead of myself here. At this point, I didn't fully understand what was going on. For all I knew it was just a really cool dream.

As things turn out it wasn't a dream. Not in the conventional sense. No this was a sign of a drastic change to my life and everything it meant. This became more than apparent when I entered the domain of a Desire Demon. I froze in shock at the sight before me. I mean this was just so really lucid dream, right? For all my thoughts of being a mage and this possibly being the Fade I didn't truly believe it. Who would?

So as I stood frozen in disbelief the Demon took notice of me and glided over. She ran her hand up and down her body. Now let me tell you I never thought they were that beautiful when playing Dragon Age but here in front of me ... yeah she is drop-dead gorgeous. I think she is already toying with my mind to make me see what I want to see. Curves in all the right faces and purple fire that looked and acted like hair. Yeah, I was screwed.

"What's this? A mere mortal enters the domain of Caress," she spoke in a silky smooth voice dripping with lust.

Alarm bells where ringing in my head. Unfortunately I'm a young man so I really wasn't in charge.

"I ... I'm ... Sean," I managed to choke out of my suddenly dry mouth. Caress glided closer to me and gaze my shoulder a squeeze. My head was foggy with lust. My breath was coming out in loud gusts.

"What do you desire," She purred. Oh man. This was so not good. Normally I'd be able to tell you half a dozen things I desired at any given moment but right now that wasn't really an option. In fact it felt like I had no true control over my thoughts or my mouth for that matter.

"You," I managed to choke out. Caress' face lit up in a dazzling smile. I literally melted right there. Even hadn't I been so under her spell that would have tipped me over the edge anyway. At this point, it felt like I was locked inside my body. I was mentally hitting my head against the wall trying to regain myself to no avail. Caress, a desire demon, had me eating out of the palm of her hand. All she had to do was offer me a deal and I'd really be done for.

"Ah," she practically sighed and all pressure left me. Suddenly, I was me again. It was as if I had literally been caught in a spell. It was like a nightmare only much more pleasant on the surface.

"You dear sweet man. You need to be careful with your dealings in the Fade. There are those of my kind who would use your weakness against you. There are those who would use you to enter the world of man."

Caress was no longer a seductress instead she was a teacher. The really hot teacher that caused more juvenile male fantasies then the cover model for Swimsuit Illustrated. She was giving off this almost motherly vibe. A really sexy motherly vibe.

"But not you?"

She shook her head to inform me that she really had no designs on my body and soul ... and why am I somewhat disappointed by that revelation? It's like I'm not good enough for her or something. Oh it's probably because I don't have magic.

"You do." Oh, I do. Wait, what? I didn't voice that aloud. I know I didn't. She gives me a reassuring smile.

"We are in my realm and if you think as loudly as you have been I can hear you."

My face heats up as I am absolutely sure that if she heard anything from my thoughts then she definitely heard my perverse ones. Those were as good as shouted from the top of a mountain.

"Okay, so you can hear my thoughts," a nod in response. "And you said I have magic," again she nods. "So if I'm a mage why aren't you trying to offer me a deal? You could have had a more than willing host not 5 minutes ago when I was under your spell. Why let me out? And why am I even here? The Fade doesn't exist where I'm from. Not in this state anyway."

Caress looked amused as I rambled on. "See this is why you interest me so. Your desire for knowledge. You seek to know all about the world you interact with. I watched you as you walked the Fade. I saw your previous attempts at magic. Had you been born in Thedas you would have been able to cast fireballs about. As for why I am not offering you a deal it is because I have no desire to leave my realm. I am content in the Fade unlike some of my brethren. As for why you are here, suffice it to say there are some that would meddle with things beyond their grasp. You have been plucked from your realm by those that desire the power born in you. You have the potential to do much in Thedas. Some would prefer to guide you down the path they desire."

That is sick. Some bastard wants me in Thedas to control me. I'll never understand that. I could never understand how people could use others like that. Slavery is wrong, period. Most likely this was another demon at work or blood mages. Hell it could be that Caress is actually the one who dragged me here against my will. I doubt it but I'd still have to be careful.

"Somebody wants the power I could potentially wield. You know I've always hated that word. Potential is unrealized and needs to be formed. Without proper training I'm a sitting duck. I suspect whoever wants my power is going to be actively seeking me out and that means I have a giant target on my back with no way of protecting myself."

Caress tilts her head at my assessment with an amused smile on her face.

"I have no intention of leaving you without protection. The world is at the precipice of change. Many fear the inevitable change despite the fact that it is needed. Very soon you will come face to face with the precipice and when the time comes do not hesitate to leap."

"Yeah, that's not very reassuring. In fact, that's almost the exact thing that Flemeth says to Hawke. I don't think it was reassuring then and it certainly isn't now. Look I'm just a man. Destiny and all that doesn't mean much to me. I believe in free will. To me destiny is just slavery by another name."

Caress laughs deeply at this. I'm so very glad she finds me so amusing. It takes several moments before she gets her laughter under control and is able to respond.

"My dear boy, you always have a choice. There is no destiny but that what you make. Whether you choose is up to you. However, I would not see you unarmed for the coming conflict. You need the skills to be able to survive in this world where your foreknowledge will serve you greatly."

I nod in agreement at this. I am woefully unprepared for what I'm getting into. I also need to know if I can ever get home. It surprises me a bit that it took this long to get to that point but I think it has to do with the fact that I'm still in the Fade and it hasn't really hit home yet. I'm sure when I'm next deep in trouble I'll really wish I was home. What will my parents think? My sister? My friends? These thoughts sadden me. I really will miss everybody and that kind of makes me hate whoever did this.

"Give up thoughts of home. They do you no service and, in all likelihood, you will never see your home again. The amount of power it took to get you here would pale in comparison to the amount it will take to send you home. Your magic would have acted like a beacon there but here your magic would need to be siphoned from the rest."

That kind of makes sense. I mean in my world I would have been rare but in Thedas magic is everywhere. It permeates the very soil. So home is put on the backburner. I won't give up entirely but it needs to be set aside for the moment.

"Alright so where does that leave us?"

Caress nods in respect to how quickly I came to grasp the situation.

"As I said I have no intention of seeing you without protection. I will give you two things to help you. First I offer my domain as sanctuary to you when you come to the Fade. I have your essence and will pull you to me. In this way, the entity that drew you here will be unable to touch you. Only a fool would seek to challenge me where my power is at its strongest."

I really hope she is honest about not possessing me because if she's not I'll literally be at her mercy. The only thing that makes me trust her is that she already had me. She literally had me worshipping her and all it would have taken was a little nudge and she'd have what she wants. So her offer has to be genuine or her plan is far more insidious and tangled then I could ever devise.

"And the second thing?" I asked.

"I will give you the knowledge to access your power," She holds up a finger to forestall anything I might say in response before continuing on. "This knowledge is not however enough to unlock your potential. I will give you the knowledge to use your power. It is up to you to train and truly command your power."

At this I nod as again she makes sense. Knowing how to do something doesn't mean you can actually do it. It actually reminds me of auto shop. I got the theory and the book work part but actually put me in front of a car and I couldn't tell you what was wrong or how to fix it if my life depended on it. I really hope this isn't like other skilled trades. I hope simply knowing how to do something and constant practice will do the trick otherwise I am as good as dead. Still I had to be sure this was all genuine.

"And what do you get out of this?"

A warm smile found its way onto Caress' face. "A friend. Is it so strange to find that demons get lonely? I will give you what you need, all I ask is that you get to know me and not what Chantry dogma says about me and my kind."

"Hmm... You know that actually makes sense. I never believed in religion before. I thought it was pretty damn presumptuous of man to believe that they knew what God or the Maker said. I will give you a chance, Caress. Just as you have given me."

Caress places a hand on my shoulder and looks genuinely relieved. "Thank you, mortal. You have no idea how much this means to me." She then gets serious and I can see that whatever is about to happen may not be the most pleasant thing in the world.

"This may be uncomfortable but I will try to make you as comfortable as possible." She tapped her chin as she thought to herself. "Now how does that go again? Ah yes. Open your mind to the universe. Embrace Eternity!"

Really, Caress? I think we may get along just fine. I smirked slightly at that line anyway. Then I was hit with ... I don't really know how to explain it. It was like this vortex and it was sucking into my head. Things I had never thought where suddenly in my mind like something long forgotten. Everything I ever needed to know about being a mage was deposited into my mind.

Sounds great, right? Wrong! It's like my brain went into overload. My entire body was sent into seizure as my brain was fire off my synapses left and right. It was like a bad muscle spasm except everywhere. I heard a rather unmanly scream and at first I wonder if this hurt Caress as much as me. The scratchy ache in my throat told me otherwise. I was the one with the girly scream. Hopefully Caress doesn't hold this against me. I mean right now she is the only one I can trust. How strange is that. A desire demon is the one person I can trust. Yeah, lock me up now. Put me in the loony bin and throw away the key.

After what seemed like hours the pain finally subsided and I was actually able to look deep into myself and feel the mana pooled within. I conjured up images on how to manipulate it to do whatever I wanted. I caught a glimpse of something else that made me pause in surprise.

"I'm an arcane warrior? I was under the impression that had to directly passed down from one trained in the art."

"Ah, it is very refreshing to see such a keen mind. Yes, you are an arcane warrior. It is an innate talent. You need to posses what is needed to become one. Where that knowledge came from ... we will need to discuss that at another time. It is a deeply personal issue and will require some time to explain. Time which is dwindling."

"Fair enough, Caress. It's really surprising though. It's like the best of both worlds. The ability to wield magic and use a sword."

"Too many mages rely solely on their magic to their detriment. How many times has a mage died because a templar drained his mana. It is a sad end that does not need to be and I do not wish to see you among them."

"Thanks. I'd rather not be run through." I look around at the Fade and notice it is getting fuzzy. "Ah ... I'm assuming this is good bye for now."

"Yes. Your time in the Fade is drawing to an end. Remain vigilant upon waking. I fear you may be in danger."

"That really doesn't surprise me at this point. Something tells me my life just got a whole lot more interesting then it was before I went to bed."

"Yes, I suspect it is. Until we meet again, my friend."

* * *

My eyes shot open and all thoughts of it being a dream where shattered. I wasn't at home in bed. I was on the ground in a tent. I rubbed at my eyes almost hoping that I was still seeing things but no matter how much I did nothing changed. I sighed in resignation and took an inventory of what I had. It was better than nothing. I had the important things to survive. I had leather armor that one typically associated with rogues and also a sword that greatly resembled Spellweaver from Origins.

After a few minutes and much swearing I finally donned my leather armor. It was time to explore so I grabbed my sword and stepped outside. I could instantly feel the hum from the sword. It was singing to my very soul. This sword flat out belonged to me. I could also feel which spells it would help improve. Cold spells were definitely it's strength. I always liked the effectiveness of those spells. Then a thought struck me. This wasn't actually Spellweaver but one similar suited for a particular type of mage. I held the sword out in front of me and touched my forehead to the flat of the blade.

"I think I'll call you Frost Bite." I swear the damn thing hummed it's approval at that. Is this how the Qunari feel? Do their swords talk to them, as mine appears to be doing?

A guttural scream drew me out of my musings. Things were about to get serious. Cresting a hill was about a dozen Darkspawn and they were advancing on me. It looks like I'm out of the frying pan and into the fire.


	2. Chapter 2: Escape From Lothering

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Sean and Caress. This is Bioware's World, I'm just playing in it. **

* * *

This really wasn't my day. First I go to sleep and find myself in the Fade, meet a Desire Demon named Caress and now Darkspawn are coming at me. Think, Sean. Think!

In theory Caress taught me everything I should need. I should be able to call upon the magic inside of me. But knowing how to do something and doing it are completely different especially when faced with life and death situations.

I was panicking. My old life never prepared me for this. The Darkspawn were coming at me in their strange shuffling gait drawing ever closer as I froze up. Caress may have put the knowledge to fight in my head but she didn't teach me how to deal with the stress that comes with it.

My eyes were wide as I felt real fear. I never thought about it before but I didn't want to die. I was young at 20. I still had so much to live for. I hardened my resolve as I pulled from within myself.

My face took on a grim set as I held Frost Bite out in front of me. The knowledge Caress gave me told me what to do but now it was up to me to do it. A shimmering shield surrounded me as a Darkspawn shot a crossbow bolt at me. I ducked the bolt and charged forward with a yell. I pointed Frost Bite towards the Darkspawn and froze three of them instantly with a Cone of Cold. I slashed at the neck of a frozen Hurlock sending its head flying.

I was quite impressed with myself. I had never held a sword before and I actually managed to cut what I was aiming for. I caught a Genlock with a kick to the stomach that sent it tumbling to the ground. After that things became a bit fuzzy. I was fully engaged in the battle and adrenalin was pumping through my system. I saw things through a bit of a haze and couldn't really recall how I managed to survive the dozen Darkspawn that had come at me. I would have died if it wasn't for some unexpected help in the form of a human-shaped battering ram.

I was so focused on a Hurlock that was proving difficult to dispatch that I completely forgot about the other Darkspawn surrounding me. Thankfully there was no Emissary with this group or I would have died. Instead a Genlock almost stuck me from behind but Aveline Vallen in all her glory smashed her shield into its head.

I was surprised for a second and my disbelief must have shown on my face because she was quick to reprimand me.

"Focus! My shield can't be everywhere at once."

This was awesome on a whole new level. Aveline just saved my life ... and now she's glaring at me. Oh, right! The Darkspawn still need killing. I joined the fray and out of the corner of my eye I noticed that Aveline was not alone. There was Carver with that ridiculously sized great sword cutting a swath through the Darkspawn. They really didn't stand a chance against that obscene sword. I can't even imagine the amount of strength it took to wield it let alone swing it.

There was a flurry of movement ahead and I was just as much in awe of Hawke as I was of Carver. There she was spinning and flipping like some acrobat all while cut a path of her own. The Genlock that had been irritating me with crossbow bolts lay charred on the ground which told me that Bethany had dealt with it.

Literally between the Hawke's and Aveline I only had to deal with this one pesky Hurlock that just didn't know when to die. I had a couple shallow cuts from it but it was definitely in worse shape. I finally had enough and froze the thing before Aveline shattered the thing with her shield.

A quick look around confirmed that all the Darkspawn were dead and a quick bit of math told me that I barely put a dent in their numbers before the Hawke family and Aveline showed up. I had killed two of the beasts myself but the rest were dispatched by Hawke and company in record time. Seriously I had been fighting for my life but they made it look so easy. I was nowhere near their level of skill and it was humbling. Sure I didn't have nearly enough practice or their amount of experience but it still was humbling to a man to know that without doubt he was the weak link.

Hawke and Carver were making sure the Darkspawn were dead so I turned to Aveline. Her lips were pursed as if something displeased her. Still that didn't mean I wasn't going to show my gratitude. If it wasn't for her I'd be dead.

"Thanks for having my back. If you hadn't shown up when you did I'd be dead."

"Yes, you would," was her response. Really? Come on, I was outnumbered 12 to 1. What exactly was I supposed to do? Most of my time was spent being on the defensive, merely reacting to the Spawn.

"You were so focused on that Hurlock that you forget about the others. You got careless."

I wanted to be upset about that but she was right. I wasn't aware of what was going on around me and it nearly cost me my life. I gave her a small nod in acknowledgement.

"In any event, I am grateful. The name's Sean," I held my hand out for her to shake. Let me tell you that I now know why Isabela calls her man hands. Her grip was strong and this is coming from a guy who has an uncle that does metal work for a living. I also could see her muscles bulging on her arms. I was feeling less like a man by the minute. I'm not ripped or anything but I am fairly strong at least as far as it goes but this woman could break me if she wanted.

"Aveline Vallen. My husband Ser Wesley," she pointed to her husband who was giving me a death glare. What did I ever do to him? Oh, that's right. I'm an apostate here. A mage outside the Chantry's control. I really don't like how the Chantry treats mages. They treat them like property and don't think they are innocent in wanting only to keep people safe. I know all about the Tranquil and know for a fact the Chantry needs the money they draw in with their enchantments. I shot the Templar a glare.

"Does my freedom irritate you, Templar?"

Aveline looks back at her husband and sees the glare he is directing at me.

"Wesley, we've been over this. The Maker understands."

Wesley inclines his head to his wife and sends an apologetic look my way.

"I apologize. It is difficult to forget my training."

I nod at the admission from the Templar. That was likely the best I would ever get from a Templar. The Hawke family approached at this point. Hawke looked exactly like the default version of her. Very pretty overall and she had a smirk on her face that was full of mischief. Carver had a glare on his face and looked young. There weren't any premature lines around his eyes or mouth but you could see he'd develop them because that scowl was almost permanently on his face if I remember the game correctly. Okay, that right there has to stop. This isn't a game anymore and I need to remember that. I almost died a few minutes ago.

I looked to Leandra next. She looked younger than I would have thought. Sure her hair was gray but you could still see how beautiful she must have looked when she was younger. She was still rather pretty now. I wouldn't have guessed her to be over 50. She looked like a very kind lady.

Finally my gaze settled on Bethany ... and my mouth is absolutely dry suddenly. Bethany was definitely Leandra's daughter. She was drop-dead gorgeous which makes me wonder how she hadn't even kissed a boy yet. Sure she's a mage and protected by her family but this young woman should have been courted by now. She gave me a shy smile and stepped close to me. Warmth suddenly flooded into me and it took my addled brain a few seconds to piece together that she had just healed me and not anything else.

I heard several throats clearing and realized that I had been staring at Bethany. Great first impression Sean. It's not like she is likely to see anything in me anyway. It's not like I'm the best looking guy out there with my thick auburn hair and slightly husky build. I'm not all that tall either at about 5'10". Both Hawke and Aveline are almost as tall and Carver has about 4 inches on me. Plus the scruff on my face probably isn't the most appealing either.

Hawke was giving me a rather amused smirk, Carver was still glaring only more deeply and Leandra had a thoughtful look on her face. What is that about? Aveline and Wesley were relatively neutral about all this. I decided I needed to get everybody off of my blunder as it wouldn't do well to upset Hawke or Carver for that matter. Have I mentioned how obscene that sword is he carries around? Although Hawke's amusement seems like a good sign.

"Right, like I said to Aveline and Wesley, the name's Sean. Apostate Mage and a traveler who apparently picked a really bad time to come to Lothering."

Hawke actually laughed at that. It's good to see she has a sense of humor. If I didn't know before that she was the head of the Hawke household I would have found out relatively quickly.

"I'd say. We don't usually send out Darkspawn to greet our guests. I'm Marian but you can call me Hawke, everybody else does. The grumpy one is my brother, Carver. This is my mother, Leandra. And the one you were undressing with your eyes is my sister, Bethany. Also an apostate."

Ouch, Hawke. That hurts. I wasn't undressing her with my eyes. I was simply admiring. Not like she'd believe that though. They all welcomed me and I decided it was best to apologize for my earlier gaff.

"Right, sorry. I really didn't mean to stare." Carver decided this would be a good time to butt in but not about his sister thankfully. That doesn't mean I didn't roll my eyes at what he did say.

"If you're a mage why are you wielding a sword."

There really is only one response to this. Sarcasm.

"Right because mages are supposed to use staves! How could I forget? Look, it's rather simple. I like living. When a Templar, like good Ser Wesley here, decide I'm a danger there response is to hit me with a Holy Smite. That drains my mana and I'd much rather have something to defend myself with then a stick. I like living thank you very much."

"But what kind of mage carries a sword?" Carver apparently decided to ignore my sarcasm though Hawke seemed to appreciate it. I still couldn't help sighing at Carver not giving up on this.

"Look, if you want to put a classification on it you could say I'm an Arcane Warrior. I haven't been one for very long but the essence of it is that I use my magic to help augment my physical abilities. I still can use regular magic like I did when I froze that Hurlock but primarily I fight with Frost Bite."

"Frost Bite? You named your sword that," Bethany asked. Her voice was as pleasant as the rest of her. Yeah, I think I'm in love.

"Yeah, well it helps focus cold spells. That's why I call it Frost Bite. Look I'd love to play 20 questions but don't you think we should be getting out of here before more Darkspawn show up."

I really just wanted to get out of there. I mean there are so many better places to ask these kind of questions. Once we were safe from the Darkspawn I was more than willing to answer any questions they may have had. Hawke seemed to agree with my assessment of the situation and her expression turned more serious.

"He's right. If we stay here any longer the horde will be upon us. For now you can stay with us. Safety in numbers and all that."

With that decided I ran back to my tent and made sure I had everything of value. I fully intended to travel with Hawke to Kirkwall as I had no intention of joining the Warden or wandering off on my own. Despite my lack of overall ability I was still a mage and that meant Templars would hunt me. It was definitely safer to stick with the Hawke family who had kept Bethany and her father safe for years. It was never really stated in the game how long the Hawke's stayed in Lothering but it was definitely years. Malcolm had been dead for 3 years at this point and the family had been here even longer. I'd say probably since Bethany and Carver were 10 or so.

During my search I found a coin purse with a couple of sovereigns and about 50 silver pieces. It wasn't a fortune by any means but it was better than nothing. There was also a backpack with some clothes in it. I shouldered my load and left the tent where it was. It wasn't going to do us any good. Hawke led the way with Carver and Aveline following. I was walking at the back with Bethany while Leandra and Wesley where in the protected middle. Bethany gave me an encouraging smile as we followed. She looked a little worn out from the events of the day which made me wonder just how long they've been fighting through the horde. I wanted to say something but I really didn't know how. I've never been particularly successful in my attempts to talk to women. As it turns out, Bethany was curious about me.

"How is it you've managed to stay free from the Circle? I had my family to protect me from the Templars was your situation similar?"

Now this is one question I really didn't know how to answer. I've literally been a mage for a few hours at most. At least where it counts. Should I be honest here and risk being seen as a mad man? Or should I make something up? I looked into Bethany's eyes and realized I didn't want to lie to her. I never wanted to lie to her.

"That's not the easiest question to answer. My circumstances are rather unique. I doubt you'd even believe me if I told you."

"You don't trust me, I understand," was her response. Now there is no way I'm going to let her think that.

"No, that's not it at all. I can't explain just yet but I trust you. I trust your sister as well. Not so much your brother but I figure that will come with time. What I can tell you is that I didn't even know I was a mage until very recently."

Bethany was surprised by this. Not that I can blame her. I was just as surprised when I found out but for her it has to be more than that. They say most children show signs at a fairly young age. About 6 or so if my understanding is correct. So being only a couple years older then Bethany and just finding out probably rarely if ever occurs.

"That is strange. How old are you?"

"Just turned 20 a couple months ago. What about you? I figure you to be about my age."

"Hmm," she hums in thought, "I'm 18 as is Carver. You're actually closer to Marian's age. She's 21."

Really? I never really thought of Hawke as this young. Only a year older then me and she already takes such control of things. I'd figure age wise Aveline would be the leader. She is closer to 30 yet she still follows Hawke. What is it about her that draws people in? That thought leads me to Carver who looks sour like always. He always says that he is in her shadow and seeing it I can kind of understand. It's kind of similar to how my sister always had to work twice as hard to half as good as good as me. It's funny in a way because I know I always admired my sister for her work ethic. I wish I was as driven as her but I always found things easier and more likely to be boring. If it didn't draw me in I didn't give it my full effort. Hawke simply oozed charisma and skill, Carver didn't have the charisma but he certainly had the skill. He just needs to learn that there is nothing wrong with following and that he can earn respect for that. I'm sure that's all he really needs is respect and maybe a friend. Whether it be Hawke's or somebody else's. I opened my mouth to respond when suddenly Hawke called out.

"Darkspawn! Carver with me, Aveline protect the mages! Bethany deal with that emissary! Sean keep mother safe!"

Wow, relegated to babysitting. It'd be a lot more difficult to swallow if I couldn't see the look Hawke was giving me. She was trusting me to keep her mother alive. That was a lot of trust given to somebody she had only met a short while ago. I pulled Frost Bite free from her sheath and turned away from the battle taking place in front of me. I knew more Darkspawn would sneak up behind us. I was trusting Bethany and Aveline to keep whatever Darkspawn got free of Hawke and Carver off of my back. A guttural scream heralded the arrival of more Darkspawn and I engaged the ones trying to sneak up behind us. There were 2 Genlocks and 2 Hurlocks to contend with. Aveline came to give me a hand and I sent out a cone of cold which caught a Genlock and a Hurlock. A shield bash by Aveline shattered the Hurlock while I lopped the head of the Genlock. That left us each with one to deal with. I blocked a blow from the other Hurlock and then decided to do something different and hit the Hurlock I was facing off with a spirit bolt. While it didn't have the same potency behind it as my cold spells I need to practice all the spells I could to truly command my magic. The Hurlock was momentarily stunned and I followed up by running my sword through it's stomach. The Hurlock snarled at me and I kicked it off my blade. Aveline had dealt with her Genlock with ease. She really was a woman shaped battering ram. The poor Genlock's face was smashed in from her shield. Hawke called out to us.

"Well that was fun." Uh huh. Hawke enjoys fighting Darkspawn. Why am I not surprised by this revelation? Her next words turned my stomach though. "Maybe we'll get more of a challenge next time."

This seemed to jog my memory. The ogre. We were about to come up to an ogre. There was no way I was going to let this go without a warning. Earlier I was debating on telling Bethany about myself and all that entailed but there was no way I was going to let somebody get killed because I chose not reveal my knowledge of the future. Everybody else was turning to go when I called out.

"Wait." They all turned back to look at me. I must not have looked very good because Bethany rushed towards me ready with a healing spell. I merely shook my head at her. I looked directly at Hawke. She was the one I needed to convince.

"I know this is going to sound weird but when we get up that hill we are going to be charged by an ogre."

Everybody was staring at me. I hate being stared at. Hawke looked thoughtful though. I guess being in a family of mages made her listen when others would be quick to refute such statements.

"Is this part of your gift?" Hawke asked. I liked the fact that she referred to my magic as a gift and not the curse others would. This actually gives me a plausible excuse for what I know. I mean how much would anybody trust me if they knew that I was from another world where they were all characters in a video game. I can't let that part out even if I do tell Bethany about where I am from. I don't want to judge any of them by what occurs in the game anyway. There was so much that just wasn't covered. So I told my first real lie in my new world.

"Yes. I get these feelings. Sometimes they are very specific like now. Other times it's a bit more vague. Right now I know that an ogre is going to charge us and that Carver and Bethany are in danger."

I can't trust things to stay the same. I can't trust that it would be Carver to die because Hawke was clearly a rogue. There was no way I would let a sweet girl like Bethany die at the hands of that ogre. Hawke tilted her head slightly to the side as if weighing the truth of what I said. Finally she came to a decision.

"Alright, I'll trust you. This is my family we are talking about but I know there is something you are not telling me."

Crap! Hawke why couldn't you just take what I said at face value? Why do you have to be so damn aware of everybody?

"Stay close and nobody charge off on their own. I mean it, Carver! There is nobody I'd rather have fighting at my side but an ogre is not something any of us can take on single-handedly."

Carver's angry rant died on his tongue and he actually looked genuinely grateful at his sister's words. Huh. I guess they may be able to work out their differences after all. We followed Hawke and Carver up the hill and sure enough almost immediately the ground started to shake Leandra looked worried at her children. Suddenly the ogre appeared and charged us. We scattered and to my horror I found myself next to Leandra.

This is not good. This is really not good! I looked up into the face of the ogre and swallowed my fear.

"Leandra run!"

I pointed Frost Bite at the ogre and shoved out with a Cone of Cold. Carver's obscene sword and a fireball from Bethany did nothing to it in the game so I figured my best bet was to freeze the bastard.

Yeah, that didn't work out so well. The others were yelling at me as the ogre scooped me up in his hand and squeezed. So this is it. This is how I die. I didn't even make it out of Lothering! One day in Thedas ... pathetic!

I wasn't alone though. Apparently my warning was all Hawke needed to be on her toes because suddenly the ogre was roaring in pain. Hawke, Carver and Aveline were all hacking away at the ogre's legs and a well placed fireball from Bethany hit the ogre right between the eyes. Nice shot, Bethany!

The ogre's response was to throw me in anger. I flew through the air and hit the ground with a thud. It took my brain a few seconds to catch up to the pain that shot up my leg. My left leg was bent awkwardly underneath me and I could tell some serious damage had occurred. It was probably the most painful thing I had ever experience. At least he didn't slam me into the ground first. I don't think I would have survived that. As it was I was doing some seriously unmanly screaming again.

Leandra was suddenly at my side. She knelt down next to me and took my hand. She gave me a reassuring smile before calling out.

"Bethany! He needs healing!"

Bethany didn't respond but I assume that had to do with the ogre still being alive. Leandra did her best to take my mind off the pain.

"That was an incredibly brave and foolish thing you did, young man."

I was still in quite a bit of pain but still managed to grunt out my response.

"Hawke trusted me to protect you. That's what I did."

In some ways Leandra reminded me of my own mother. She was very protective of her children to the point of being over-protecting. All I could picture in my mind was my own mother as the ogre initially glared at Leandra. There was no way I was going to let her die. This pain was worth it. Leandra brushed my hair out of my face and kissed my forehead.

I was in shock by the time Bethany got to me. Hawke and Wesley were standing over me while Carver and Aveline were keeping their eyes out for more Darkspawn.

"The damage is too great. This is more than I can deal with now. The best I can do is strengthen the leg. Even still he will barely be able to stand. He will need help walking."

Every eye turned to Hawke. Bethany wanted Hawke to decide whether I would live or die and Leandra was beseeching her to aid me. Me? I was practically begging with only a look for her to save me. Hawke knelt next to me and put her hand on my shoulder. She gave me a reassuring smile.

"Heal him. He saved mother and without his warning who knows how many of us would have perished."

I felt warmth envelop me as my leg slowly begin to fix itself. The pain had receded but like Bethany said the damage wasn't all fixed. Carver apparently wasn't just looking out for Darkspawn. He returned to us with a couple pieces of wood that they tied around my leg to act as splints. I was actually impressed with that bit. Carver even gave me a nod of respect.

"Flames, we're too late!" Aveline shouted out.

Leandra and Bethany helped me to my feet as Hawke and Carver joined Aveline.

"There's no end to them!"

"We make our stand here! Leave none alive!"

Hawke was certainly confident. So was I but for an entirely different reason. Wesley wasn't looking too good but I figured that was the blight sickness that I knew was ravaging him. Hawke, Aveline and Carver presented a formidable front with Bethany and myself to back them up. Sure I couldn't fight like a normal arcane warrior but I certainly could add a few spells to the mix if necessary.

The roar of a dragon caused everybody to freeze. We all turned and watched as a high dragon swept in scorched the Darkspawn. In this case, I'm going to disagree with Alistair. Sweeping is good! The Darkspawn were absolutely decimated by the High Dragon Flemeth. Hawke and the others watched in awe as the High Dragon transformed into the legendary witch of the wilds.

"Well, well. What have we here? It used to be that we never got visitor to the wilds. But now it seems they come in hordes."

Hawke responded in sarcastic fashion but I pretty much ignored the rest of the conversation. Wesley had fallen down and Aveline was tending him.

I was still in some pain and wasn't really in the mood to deal with Flemeth's riddles. After having played both games I still didn't know if she was evil or not. I always helped Morrigan kill her but I just like the ritual I didn't really know if it was the right decision. Listening to Flemeth talk more wasn't going to help me figure that out either. Flemeth had other ideas after Bethany asked her about being an apostate.

"Yes, just like you." Then she directed the full power of her gaze upon me. It's like she froze me with her mere gaze.

"And another it seems. You, boy, have a very strange feel about you."

Everybody was staring at me again. I really hate that. I managed to stammer out a response nonetheless.

"Yes, well, I'm not exactly from around here. That's all that's strange about me, really."

The more I talked the deeper I was digging a hole. I knew it, Flemeth knew it and I swear that Hawke knew it too.

"That is certainly one way of putting it." Flemeth seemed to be staring into my very soul and when she continued on I really shouldn't have been surprised.

"Such knowledge you possess. You could rule the world with what you know and yet you allow yourself to follow others."

So now she's comparing me to Alistair. I guess there are worse comparisons out there.

"I'm not really a leader, Flemeth. Never have been. I'd much rather follow somebody I trust then lead to disaster."

At this Flemeth let out one of her cackling laughs. Yeah, that is creepy.

"Such wisdom and from one so young. In her your trust is not misplaced but perhaps in others yes."

At this I shift nervously. I really hope she is not talking about Caress. I'm not really ready to deal with the fact that she might actually be using me to her own ends. She very well could have been the one to draw me to Thedas. It's not something I can deal with now anyway. Flemeth returned her attention to Hawke and the two apparently came to some agreement while I shifted nervously on my feet. Flemeth turned her attention to Wesley and I turned my back on the scene. I really didn't want to see that particular mess play out. Wesley was already dead but only Flemeth dared state as much.

In the end Aveline ended her husband's life with a dagger to the heart. That really is harsh. No wonder it takes her 4 years to move on.

"Without an end there can be no peace," Flemeth stated with much more sympathy than one might expect.

Well here we were following Flemeth out of Lothering, away from the horde, and to Kirkwall, the city of chains, where our future awaited us.


	3. Chapter 3: A World of Pain

**A/N: Bioware owns everything except for Sean and Caress who are my creations**

* * *

The next several hours were fairly tense. Flemeth kept her word and led us away from the Darkspawn but all of us were on edge. Aveline had been silent in her grief since she had been forced to kill Wesley. There was nothing any of us could say to make her feel better. We just needed to give her time. I merely squeezed her arm in support and understanding. I know exactly what it was like to lose everything and the Hawkes were more than willing to help us pick up the pieces.

Flemeth led us to Gwaren, in the southeast, until nightfall. I always thought Gwaren was closer to Denerim and not some outpost even farther south than Ostagar. We had set up camp as best we could. Well, the others did. Flemeth was busy observing Bethany's attempt to fix my leg. Leandra was holding my hand in support as the pain had returned with a vengeance.

Bethany sighed in frustration, "I'm afraid that is the best I can do. I fear the damage will be permanent unless we can find a healer more skilled than I."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I really didn't want to be a cripple. A cripple apostate didn't live free long, if at all. Flemeth had other ideas though as she scoffed at this.

"Bah! You very well have the power and skill to heal him, girl. You are simply not getting to the real problem."

Yeah, that wasn't as reassuring as one might expect. I kind of had an idea of what she was referring to as well. See I played a lot of sports, baseball, football, hockey and pretty much anything else, growing up. I know I had bad knees. The two surgeries on my left knee could attest to that. In fact, that's the biggest reason why I'm a little bit out of shape. My right leg had gotten just as bad though as it had to compensate for my left. I looked up right into Flemeth's knowing gaze. So she did know my legs were already defective. I gave her my approval with a nod and there was sympathy in her eyes.

Bethany was looking back and forth between Flemeth and myself. She could tell we had some sort of silent conversation but didn't really know what it was about. I didn't want to voice it but there was no other way. My choices were to deal with a lot of pain now or pain for the rest of my life. Really that's not much of a choice. Flemeth had called the others over and began explaining to them what needed to be done.

"The damage in his legs are not new. This was merely another in a long list of injuries that have not been properly treated. In order to fix the damage we must first break both of his legs again."

There was much arguing and yelling about this. None of them wanted to do it. I can't really say I blame them. I was sick to my stomach over the prospect. I really didn't want to do this but I had no choice. Leandra squeezed my hand in support and had that supportive motherly look on her face. I had to get the others to listen and yelled out to get their attention.

"Stop!" Every eye turned towards me and I was forced to gulp back bile that rose up at the thought of what I was about to ask them to do. "You need to this. I'll be crippled for the rest of my life otherwise. Believe me when I say that I really don't want to do this but I don't have a choice. Please, help me."

I made sure everybody was in agreement before directing Flemeth to continue.

"Here is what needs to be done," with a look at each of them to let them know their rolls in all this. "The two of you will need to hold him down. Make no mistake about it, he will fight you. He will be in pain but this is the only way." Hawke and Carver knelt at my shoulders and started holding me down. Yeah, I really didn't like this.

"I will need you to break his legs. Do not be moved by his cries of pain. He will most likely be delirious but this needs to be done." Aveline had a grim look on her face but she nodded in understanding of her role. I really think she was the only one who could do this. In many ways she is the strongest of us all.

"And you girl, observe what I do. It will greatly aid you in the time to come." Bethany nodded in understanding but still shot me a look full of sympathy. Leandra had gotten to her feet and looked to Flemeth.

"I will get some water. He will needed it by the time you are through." Flemeth nodded her approval at Leandra's self-assigned task. No doubt I would be feverish. This could very well kill me but I had to do this. I gave Flemeth one last look, suddenly fearful of what was to come.

"Is ... is there anyway to dull the pain?" Flemeth gave me another sympathetic look at my question which did more than enough to answer it.

"There are several things that could dull your pain. Each more likely to kill you then the next. I am afraid that we must do this without the aid of any herbs."

Now this was bad. I was panicking again. My breath was coming out in ragged gasps. Hawke and Carver pat my shoulders in sympathy and Bethany took my hand and gave it a quick squeeze. Aveline shared a look with me once I had calmed down a little. I gave her a nod telling her to begin.

SON OF A ... I was screaming and cursing at the top of my lungs. No doubt a sailor would be jealous of my vocabulary. I don't think I can fully describe just how painful this was. Aveline had started with my left leg which was already in immense pain to begin with. The only thing I could really compare this to was when Caress transferred knowledge directly to my mind except that's not really accurate either. That was painful but this was like that except only one part of my body. It made the pain that much more acute. It felt like my leg was on fire. I could feel Flemeth's healing magic coursing through me, centralized around my knee. It made the pain worse. Everything was knitting back together and I never really thought of how painful healing really was. It happens slowly, without magic, but the accelerated rate of healing by magic made it its own sort of torment. I was pale as a ghost and sweat was pouring down my body. I was whimpering in pain and not really in control of myself or surroundings. I could vaguely feel pressure on my shoulders that could only be Hawke and Carver holding me down. I was pleading with them.

"Please, stop. Please, it hurts so much." I was crying, screaming like a girl and pleading all at once.

Yeah, not one of my finest moments but I really didn't care. It was only half done too. Through blurry eyes I saw Aveline move to my other leg. My attempts to escape became even more panicked. I was kicking out with my one good leg and caught Aveline along the jaw. She didn't even grunt in pain. She simply grabbed my leg and ... SNAP!

The pain became too much at that point and I passed out. The worst was over anyway.

* * *

I was curled up in on myself. I was still whimpering and my mind was in a fog. I really wasn't aware of my surrounding. All I knew was pain. The pain never seemed to end. I lost all track of time and my brain couldn't handle it. Soon I was swimming in memories.

The pain fell away as I remember all the trouble I got up to with my friends. Oddly enough most involved me in pain. Those were the ones where I was the goalie while we played road hockey. Yeah, I'm sure you can imagine the pain involved with not wearing a cup. I really was quite stubborn back then. I also recalled time with my family. My dad being an assistant coach while I played baseball and football. My mom's constant encouragement and how much she wanted me to do something great. Finally there was my sister. We didn't get along for a long time but recently things had been getting better. We had gotten really close over the last few months before everything happened. I would miss them all.

It was awhile before I became aware of my surroundings again and as I did I realized somebody was comforting me. My eyes slowly opened to the Fade. Caress was soothing me with soft words and by caressing my arm. When she noticed that I was coming around she offered me a small smile.

"Hush. It's almost over." It may have been but it didn't stop the residual pain I still felt even here in the Fade. I never wanted to go through anything like that again. That was without doubt the most painful thing I had ever experienced. I was still pretty out of it but was coming around. I latched onto Caress' hand as I sought the only form of comfort I could. Her thumb stroked the back of my hand as she gave a reassuring squeeze.

"You have been out of it for quite some time. Quite a bit longer then one normally spends in the Fade."

That didn't really surprise me. No doubt my body had shut down and now it was only a matter of time before I woke up. I wondered how long I had been out of it in the real world. Time wasn't exactly relative in the Fade. It wasn't like 8 hours felt like 8 hours here.

"It was necessary. I know it was painful but you will need to be fully functional for what is to come. Since you are here now I will explain where I came upon the knowledge of an arcane warrior."

I wasn't really going anywhere and I wasn't really in any condition to hold up my end of a conversation so it was the best use of our time. She started her tale by explaining about the rise of the Tevinter Imperium and the fall of Arlathan. I wasn't really surprised by that as strictly speaking the Elves were the ones who devised and mastered the arcane warrior. So it didn't really surprise me when she mentioned one elf in particular that she had met in the Fade. I knew where this was going. Caress was once like other demons in that she wanted to walk the walking realm and so she engaged in a deal.

"Her name was Illeya and she was a strong warrior of her people. Her people were losing their war with Tevinter. So much the elves had taught the Tevinter's that they had very few secrets of their own remaining. It was their one true mistake. Illeya had no desire to see her people die as the Tevinter's kept pushing the war. The elves were scattering and Illeya sought me out. She needed my help to push the magisters back and save her people. She was a kind, loving woman who had lost her mate to the war. Most of her family had been slain in the battles. Her own young daughter had been captured by the magisters. She probably would not have sought me out otherwise. I was taken in by her story and agreed to help her. We would join together and fight the magisters in a true fusion. There would be no abomination as the Chantry puts it. Neither of us sought control only union. Unfortunately, as in all things, the best of intentions often lead to unintended results."

I could see just how painful this story was for Caress. She didn't want to hurt Illeya. She loved her in her own way. Just as I suspected she did for me. I was beginning to understand that this demon ... no, that's not right ... that this being was capable of love and friendship like anybody else. She must be a very old spirit in order to come to this knowledge. She seems to have risen above her brethren who only pay heed to their own wants and desires. She seems to understand that there are consequences to her actions.

"The very people we were trying to save did not trust us. We had fought the magisters and were turning the tide in the battle but Illeya and myself were changing. She was no longer who she was and neither was I. I was not always as I am. I was like my brethren in many aspects. I simply desired to see her world yet that did not mean I wouldn't honor our deal. A desire demon always honors her deal. In a lot of respects it is what separates us from other demons who try to twist things to their own ends. You can always count on a desire demon to stick to the very word of the agreement. And I did. However, her people didn't see it that way. They saw what a terror we were in battle together and they figured it was only a matter of time before we turned on them."

I swallowed the bile rising up in my throat. I could see where this was going. It would be about as pleasant as having both your legs broken and healed all over again.

"They drugged her food. We were not able to fight as they tied us to a pole and set a fire around us. We were burned alive. Illeya begged me to help her in her mind but there was nothing I could do. The elves were knowledgeable when it came to dealing with demons. They knew exactly how to subdue both of us. I felt her pain as my own and we cried together. I loved her and did not want her to meet this end. We had not freed her daughter from the Tevinters though we were getting close to her. In the end, I returned to the Fade and swore I would never again share the body of one I love. I would never again see one I have come to care for suffer so. Yet here you are. In pain. I wish there had been another way."

I gave Caress a small smile. It was all I could really manage though the pain was easing up.

"It's not your fault. You had no way of knowing what would happen and while I don't pretend to know her, I am sure Illeya would tell you the same."

She gave me a look that said she wasn't really sure if she believed me but she still appreciated my words.

"You remind me of her, you know."

"Really?" I was genuinely surprised by this. Maybe it was my unmanly like screaming I always managed to do.

"Yes. You both crave knowledge and have a certain goodness about you. You will strive to protect others even at the cost of your own life. That ogre could have killed you and yet you did not hesitate to act. It is that courage that you will need in the time to come."

I could only agree with that assessment. I know Dragon Age 2 got a lot of negative press back home because it wasn't as cut and dry as Dragon Age: Origins. At least that was my take on it. People didn't like the fact that you couldn't really stop Anders from blowing up the Chantry. Personally, I was always more upset that Bethany died if I was a mage. I always preferred playing as a mage so to me that was the greatest travesty. That and Leandra's death. What does Aveline do with the guard anyway? It seems like Hawke is the only one who gets anything done. I recall roaming around Kirkwall at night and Aveline would say she doesn't let her guards confront gangs at night. Why bother paying guards then? Their job is to keep people safe. Be proactive not reactive. To find Leandra in the same warehouse you were in years ago just reeks of laziness on the guards part. A proper search of the place could have saved Leandra and probably Alessa too.

"Do not worry about such things just yet. There is little you can do about them now. You will have time to change what you will. You do need to be careful though. Any changes you make can and will have consequences. Some might not be pleasant."

I nod at this. I know I'm playing with fire by changing things but I feel for Hawke in this. There is no way she should lose her entire family in Kirkwall. She is better than that. I haven't known her long but what I've seen is a woman who cares greatly about those around her. She would literally sacrifice herself for her family and I'm beginning to get the sense she would do the same for Aveline and myself. They say that fighting for your life can bring people together and I can understand that having lived through it myself. I consider Hawke, Leandra, Carver and Aveline part of my extended family now. As for Bethany, I definitely have strong feelings for the young woman. I would pretty much do anything for her and I barely know her. Caress gave me a sly smile as she was no doubt hearing my thoughts.

"She is waiting for in the waking realm, as are the others. Perhaps it is time for you to rejoin the living, my friend."

"Yeah, I think you're right about that, Caress. How long have I been here anyways?"

"A few days. Your friends have been worried. The Woman of Many Years assured them that you would come to in time but with her gone they have grown more and more anxious about your return."

So I've spent days in the Fade with no real knowledge of how much time had truly passed. I know I was in pain for what seemed like forever but I didn't actually realize how long it had been.

"How do I return?"

"Simply will yourself to return to your body. Do not fear. Your pain should have dwindled to nothing more than a dull ache by this point."

"Thanks again, Caress. I'll see you soon," I promised.

Then I closed my eyes and willed myself to return to my body.


	4. Chapter 4: Confessions

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Dragon Age. I own Sean and Caress.**

* * *

My eyes were shut as I slowly became aware of my surroundings. I could hear the crackling of fire and heat of its flames. The others were discussing me and my condition. They all sounded pretty worried and somebody was running their fingers through my hair.

"It's been 5 days! He's never going to wake up! We should just dump him on the Chantry's doorstep and be done with him!"

Ah, Carver I missed you, too. At least I know he isn't the one with the fingers. That would be very awkward.

"Carver! You can't mean that! He saved mother!" Bethany exclaimed. I was disappointed to find she wasn't the one taking care of me. It had to be Leandra then.

"I don't want to but we need to move on! Am I the only one who sees how much he is slowing us down?" Carver continued to argue his case and I can understand his point. I don't like it but I understand it. Aveline was the next to voice her opinion.

"I don't believe it is right to leave him behind but we can't wait on him forever. If he remains asleep when we reach Gwaren we will have little choice but to leave him. We will not be able to properly care for him on a ship to Kirkwall."

"I disagree. We can't simply leave him, especially at the Chantry. They will lock him away in the circle for the rest of his life." Leandra gave her support of me, which really left the decision up to Hawke. Not that I am surprised by that. What did surprise me was that Leandra's voice came from near the fire which meant that it was Hawke who was taking care of me.

"We will not leave him behind at the Chantry or anywhere else. He stays with us." Hawke declared. My lips pulled up in a smile at Hawke's vote of confidence. Carver wasn't so happy and continued to protest Hawke's decision.

"Why do you always get to decide? Who put you in charge anyway?" And there's the Carver we all know and love.

"Carver, I didn't decide anything. We voted. You and Aveline want to leave him while Bethany, mother and myself want to bring him with us. Do not blame me for casting the deciding vote." Hawke responded with exasperation in her voice. Carver wanted to continue to argue the point but I was getting a little tired of this and really it was a pointless argument anyway.

I opened my eyes. Hawke was leaning over me but her eyes were focused on her brother. I also noticed that what I had originally thought was a pillow was in fact Hawke's lap. She really was quite pretty and despite my preference for long hair her short styled cut really suited her.

"Um ... Hi" Wow, that was smooth. I also succeeded in surprising Hawke as she jumped to her feet and dumped me off her lap in one quick move. My head hit the ground with a thud.

"Ouch ... You know Hawke, there are other ways to tell people you are not happy with them." I said with a smile to let her know no real harm was done.

"Sorry. You surprised me. We thought you were never going to wake up." Hawke was a little too serious there. I think I prefer sarcastic Hawke. She's fun.

"Cheer up, Hawke. I'm fine, really. My body just needed to shut down for a while. I'm not even going to try to explain how excruciatingly painful that was. My legs are a bit stiff right now though and ... if you don't mind I'd like my pillow back."

Yeah, that got me a playful smack. Still Hawke did sit down and pulled my head on her lap. She started brushing my hair with her fingers again and I sighed in contentment. Hawke really did like to take care of people. She had a habit of self-sacrifice when it came to people she cared about. It was nice to know that I qualify and to think all it took was getting man-handled by an ogre. I definitely appreciated the sisterly affection. It reminded me of my family.

In any event, now that I could see everybody, it was time to come clean with these people. They had saved my life on at least 3 separate occasions at this point and they deserved to know the truth about me.

"I, ah ... have something I need to tell you all. You've all done more for me than I have any right to ask and you deserve to know the truth about me." The seriousness of my tone caught everybody's attention. Leandra had other ideas as she brought me a bowl filled with stew. Story time would have to wait as my stomach grumbled.

"First you need to eat. I am sure we are all anxious to hear your tale but you have went several days without little food and what you did get was mostly broth."

Some how I felt that Leandra was the type who wanted to feed everybody until they are fat. Hawke helped me sit up a bit more as Leandra handed me the stew. It turned out rabbit stew was dinner which I had honestly never had before. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste. I thanked Leandra and began eating in earnest. I don't think I had ever been this hungry before. I tried to eat slowly but I really was starving. I'm sure the others thought I was a bit of a pig with the way I was devouring it.

"So what did I miss?" I asked between bites.

The others took turns filling me in on what had happened. I was disappointed to find out that Flemeth had transformed into a dragon and carried me each day. That definitely was something I wanted to be awake for. I don't think there is many things that are cooler than flying around on a dragon. Apparently, the Darkspawn didn't give us any further trouble as Flemeth seemed to instinctively know how to avoid the horde. She had left us a couple of days ago at this very spot, which was a little more than an hour walk outside Gwaren. The others decided to wait for me to wake up but after a couple of days Carver was getting frustrated and wanted to move on. I think the kid has A.D.D or something.

"I'm sorry," I said to them then. I really didn't want to be the liability that I had turned out to be. Hawke waved off my apology as if it was no big deal but it was and they needed to know how grateful I was.

"Seriously, I am sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. You already could be on a ship to Kirkwall. You didn't need to take care of me but you did and I will forever be in your debt."

I was shocked when Carver waved off my apologies.

"You saved mother. I'm the one who is sorry for wanting to abandon you." Aveline was quick to speak up then and I noticed a fading bruise on the right side of her face.

"Neither of us really wanted to leave you behind. We were just trying to be practical but we are sorry nonetheless."

"See everybody's sorry. No need to make a big deal out of it. Besides everything will work out just fine now that you are awake. We can stay here the night and take ship in Gwaren tomorrow," Hawke stated with a smile. I nodded my agreement but I still had one apology to make and this one couldn't simply be waved off.

"Aveline," she inclined her head, "I'm really sorry for kicking you in the face. I have a pretty strict rule of no violence against women ... unless they're trying to kill me," I added at the end because no doubt I would end up killing women here.

A small smirk pulled up at the corner of Aveline's mouth. "I think I more than repaid you for any damage you did." I looked down at my right leg and repressed a shudder. Yeah, she definitely did there. She probably enjoyed it a bit after I kicked her in the face.

At this point I had finished eating. There was still about half a bowl left and it was pretty clear my stomach had done some shrinking while the others were taking care of me. I leaned back into Hawke and sighed. I was a bit afraid of what the others would think of my origins. They all deserved to know and if I couldn't trust them with this then there was nobody I could. They literally took care of me when I was an invalid. Hawke could obviously see my nervousness and gave me a reassuring smile before whispering to me.

"No matter what you say at this point I won't abandon you. As we have said, you saved mother. I don't know what I would have done if we lost her. When father died he made me swear to protect our family. It hasn't always been easy but if mother were gone I don't think I'd be able to hold us together. Carver would certainly leave us which would mean I would be the only one keeping Bethany safe from the Templars. I trusted you to keep mother safe and you didn't let me down. Please trust me. I promise I will never let you down."

I was not expecting such conviction from Hawke on the subject. I didn't know where her faith in me came from but there was no way I was going to disappoint her after that. So I gave her a small nod and let out a soft sigh.

"Okay," I started and began to explain how I came to Thedas. I explained about my world and how technology was our version of magic. I explained about buildings that reached high into the sky and all about cars, planes and all forms of modern transportation.

To say there was some skepticism would be an understatement. I know I wasn't explaining things as good as I can but how can you explain something that has no meaning to the people you are trying to convince? Still I soldiered on and told them of my family, my closest friends and all about my life. I think what convinced them the most was the complete honesty with which I was saying everything. There was nothing to lie about. There was no need to try to hide any shame I might have had in my life because that was the past. The truth was this was my world now and, no matter what I did there, it was here that I had to live. So I told them about my general disdain for modern life. As much as I loved video games I was never a fan of technology taking away from face-to-face interactions. I explained how I would lose myself in the fantasy of books and how I dreamed of having such adventures myself.

Then I came up to the point of that night. That damn night when my dreams seemingly came true and I was transported to a land of magic and true warriors. I told them about Caress but not that she was a desire demon because I didn't really believe she was by this point. To me she had become one of those benevolent spirits that dwell in the Fade. I explained how she taught me how to use my powers that first night in the Fade and how she comforted me during my injuries and helped sooth my pain. I told them how I hadn't even been in this world for more than 10 minutes before I met them and how nice it was not to be alone in wandering this world. They gave me a goal and hopes and dreams. I wasn't in this alone.

Leandra had handed me water some time ago and I needed it now. My story had taken hours to get through and it was now late into the night. That didn't mean the others didn't have questions though and it was Aveline who caught an earlier slip I had made.

"If you had only been in this world for only a short while before we showed up, how did you know Wesley was a Templar?" I wanted to curse myself and Aveline. Damn her for paying attention. No, wait. There is an answer that should satisfy her.

"I did tell you about Caress, the spirit of love. She told me about Templars. She figured it would be prudent since I'm a mage and all. It wouldn't do me very good to not know what Templars are. I would end up dead ... or worse a prisoner of a religion that believes I am a danger to everyone and everything."

"Aren't you," Carver challenged me. I laughed at this which just made him look really angry. I held up my hand to hold off his attack and did my best to get my laughter under control.

"You with that obscene sword are going to call me a danger? Should you be locked up for what you might do with that sword of yours, Carver? The biggest danger from a mage is becoming an abomination which, since I'm under the protecting of Caress, isn't really a problem. You, of all people, should know that not every mage is a danger and that most of them just want to live their lives in peace." Carver merely grunts in response but both Hawke and Bethany were chuckling at their brother.

"Look, if I was murder, a child molester or a rapist I would deserve to be locked up. The ability to use magic should not be considered a crime. I should not be looked at with fear and disdain. I only wish to live my life as I see fit. As long as nobody else is affected by what I do I should be left alone. I promise you that I have no need or want to learn blood magic. That is what you really fear, isn't it? The power a mage can use to take away your freewill scares you and well it should. But you should also know that it is no different than what Templars do to mages when they make them Tranquil ... except that is permanent. And, for all the Chantry's condemnation of Blood Magic, they use it themselves."

Aveline doesn't look too happy about that. I can't really blame her. Her husband was a Templar after all.

"That's not true, mage!" Oh yeah, I definitely touched a nerve there. She was ready to start a rant when I cut across her.

"And how do you think Templars track down escaped mages?" My words held Aveline's tongue for now but she needed to hear the truth before she would let this go.

"They take a phylactery which is filled with a mage's blood to track them down," I explained calmly. It would do me no good in this situation to shout at Aveline. I needed her calm and to see Bethany and my side of things. We were hunted simply for being.

"I see," Aveline responded and walked away. It was clear she needed to think over things. She had been taught to hate and fear mages all her life. I wasn't going to win her over with one talk but she needed to be aware of how bad things truly were for mages. It might even make our time a little easier in Kirkwall. I know Anders mentioned how Aveline even helped turn in some mages to the Gallows. I shuddered at that thought. I won't be taken in. I'd rather die then be subjected to Knight-Commander Meredith's brand of justice.

"I think that's enough discussion for the night. We have an early morning ahead of us. No doubt the first ship to Kirkwall will be out with the tide," Hawke called an end to our night.

I struggled to my feet with the aid of Hawke and went to relieve myself. It had been days, after all, and my bladder was rebelling. I seriously don't want to know who had to deal with this when I was out of it. There was no way I went almost a week without having an accident. Once I was done with my business I returned to camp and found Hawke waiting for me. She stepped right up to me.

"I just wanted to thank you for trusting me. That couldn't have been easy." I shrugged at this.

"It wasn't but it was either that or lie to you. That might have been the easiest thing to do now but over time it would become more and more difficult to keep my story straight. Eventually, I would slip up and you would find out the truth. I would lose your trust and then be alone all over again. I really don't want to deal with this on my own. It's too much to deal with on my own." Hawke nods in acknowledgement and surprises me with a kiss on my cheek.

"Whatever your reason I am grateful and I'd be happy to help out in any way I can."

I can't help but smile at this. "It's nice to have such a good friend," I responded.

Hawke nodded in acknowledgement and bid me a good night. She slipped into the tent she was sharing with Aveline and I looked to the tent I was going to be sharing with Carver. There wouldn't be a lot of room with the two of us. Maybe it would be better just to sleep out by the fire. With that decided, I grabbed my bedroll and curled up next to the fire. Despite having slept for 5 days I had no trouble in returning to the dream realm.

* * *

The next morning we headed out before the sun was in the sky. The pace Hawke set was slower than I expected but I think she was trying to go easy on me since I hadn't actually used my legs in about a week. I wasn't going to argue as it was a nice easy stroll compared to the mad rush from Lothering. That had not be pleasant in the least. We arrived at Gwaren in about an hour and half. Hawke wasted no time in finding a ship heading to Kirkwall and bartering with the Captain for passage. We boarded the ship and we were out to ocean with the morning tide.

This route seemed like the long way to me but Hawke explained to me why we took ship in Gwaren. Apparently, Carver and Hawke barely arrived ahead of the horde. They had fought with the King and the Grey Wardens and were lucky to escape with their lives. By the time they got to Lothering there was little time to escape. The horde basically forced their hand and forced them to travel south to Gwaren. At least that explained my questions.

We were mostly stuck down in the hold for 2 weeks as we traveled across the Amaranthine Ocean to the Waking Sea. Storms raged for the last few days and I found out I don't handle rough waters so well. I spent much of my time thinking that I was dying ... or at least wishing that I was dying. Hawke didn't leave my side through it all and it made me appreciate her even more. I think she got that side of herself from Leandra as she too spent time taking care of me. All in all I was quite happy when the sun rose to calm seas. I was finally able to breath without fear of throwing up.

We were called up to the main deck a couple of hours later. It seemed that the Captain wanted all the refugees off his ship as soon as possible. At least he didn't try to sell us into slavery so that was good.

Stepping onto the deck I was able to breathe in fresh air for the first time in a week. The Waking Sea was just too rough to have untrained people on the deck. Hawke gave me a pat on the back and a smile which I returned. We then looked out at our surroundings and took in our first sight of Kirkwall.

Huge grotesque statues were carved into the very cliffs. A giant chain stretched out under the water and you could see part of why it earned its name. All in all, it was not a pleasant first impression. In fact, it felt down right oppressive. This city may claim to be a free city but Kirkwall was still very much the city of chains. I looked around at my companions and for the most part the feeling appeared to be mutual. Leandra was the only one who truly looked happy to be here. For her this was a homecoming though. For the rest of us this was not a very welcoming sight.

The sailors were running about as they worked to get the ship docked as cleanly as possible. I could tell the navigator really had his work cut out for him as the magic-made marina was very shallow in some places. Finally after what seemed like hours we finally docked at the Gallows. I couldn't help the sudden fear I felt surge up in me. This would be a very trying few days as we tried to get into this city, that would turn out to be a gauntlet for us all. We would be tried in the days and years to come and this was only the beginning. We took our first steps off the ship and into our new lives.

* * *

**A/N: I had originally intended to this chapter to run all the way through Hawke and company getting into Kirkwall but it was getting a little long so I decided to split it up into two parts. Instead the next chapter will probably end up being a combination of getting into Kirkwall and covering the year of servitude destined to happen. **

**I'd also like to take the time to thank those who have read this story. The response has been pretty positive thus far. For the time being I will be posting regularly as I get through what I had written in advance but eventually I will probably be slowing up to post once, maybe twice a week depending on how busy real life is. **


	5. Chapter 5: Kirkwall Beginnings

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns everything except Sean and Caress**

* * *

We stepped off the ship and took our first steps into Kirkwall or at least the Gallows. On the ship our first impression of Kirkwall hadn't been very pleasant and our up close second impression was even worse. There were several people who were not being let in who were quite sick. Bethany looked pretty upset to see a girl who looked about years old hadn't been treated. This is the damn Gallows where mages were held and they hadn't had a healer come out here to help these people. There is something seriously wrong with this situation. Bethany wanted to heal the girl, I could tell but I stopped her with a hand on her arm. She looked at me questioningly.

"I know what you're thinking, Bethany and I agree but is this really the best spot to take this risk? The Gallows is where they house mages and there will be Templars near by who no doubt can sense your magic."

At that Bethany shakes her head and smiled amusingly.

"Templars can't sense magic. They only like people to think they can. As long as nobody sees what I do then there is no chance of us being caught."

I nodded my head in agreement. She knew more about this then I did and I really didn't want to see that child suffer. I motioned to Hawke and took her aside.

"You go ahead and talk to that guard. Bethany's going to heal that girl and I'm going to make sure that nobody decides to turn over the two apostate mages."

Hawke looked over at the girl in question and I could see her heartbreak. The girl had black hair that was done up in pig tails. I think she reminded Hawke of Bethany at that age. Hawke nodded her agreement.

"Very well. Keep her safe and I'll keep the guard distracted."

Hawke led Carver and Aveline off to talk to the guard while Leandra remained behind with Bethany and myself. Bethany began talking to the girls parents, who looked fearful at first but after some quick explaining they decided they would rather take a chance on magic then watch their daughter die. Bethany worked her magic, pun intended, while I stood back so as not to intimidate the girl or her parents. Leandra stood next to me.

"What are your plans when we get into the city?" Leandra asked. That wasn't something I had really thought about at this point.

"I don't really know. I imagine I'll need to find work of some kind. The problem is my old life didn't really train me for this one. I don't exactly have any skills I can fall back on."

"You are welcome to stay with us in the Estate until you get on your feet," Leandra had a small smile on her face now, "Or more permanently if things work out as I suspect they will."

Now what did she mean by that? Granted my crush on Bethany was obvious to everyone but she hadn't exactly reciprocated at this point. In fact she seemed rather oblivious to my interest in her. Besides, I still didn't think I had anything to offer her. She probably was better off with somebody who wasn't a mage and newcomer to this world.

In any event, Bethany finished up healing the girl and her parents thanked her profusely. We caught up to Hawke, Carver and Aveline under the archway that led into the courtyard of the Gallows. I joined Hawke at the front and listened to Aveline talking about Wesley and the Templars with Bethany and then with Carver about how they escaped Lothering. I gave Hawke a sympathetic look at the way Carver said he wasn't as good as his sister.

I don't think Carver really understood how much Hawke actually cared for him. She didn't try to compete with him. She was as good as she was with her blades through hard work and skill. The fact that Carver used the biggest damn sword he could was telling as well. Hawke was like a dancer on the battle field. She flowed through her opponents with no wasted motion and the quickness with which she struck with her daggers was terrifying. How does Carver respond to that? He grabs the biggest sword he can find where all that matters is strength. It was actually rather smart on his part. He played to his strengths. In this case quite literally.

In any event we made our way to the Captain of the guard who was surrounded by a group of deserters from the Fereldan army. Most likely the were mercenaries in the first place and had only signed on for the easy money. Even though I knew how this would turn out I could still see how volatile this situation was. I grabbed Hawke's arm pulling her short.

"I don't know about you but this doesn't look good. Those men are going to be a problem. I think it best if I get Leandra and Bethany. This would not be a fight we could take part in anyway." I whispered to Hawke and she was quick to her agreement.

"Take them over there by that merchant, it will probably be the safest place when the fighting breaks out," she whispered back.

I looked over to where she pointed and could tell she was right. Every other place that might be better was secluded and if we were spotted and cornered we would be in trouble. I pulled Leandra and Bethany aside as Hawke, Carver and Aveline approached the Captain. Bethany gave me a questioning look.

"What's going on? We should be with Marian and Carver."

"It looks like there might be trouble with those men. I told Hawke I would get you and Leandra to safety." Bethany looked indignant at that.

"I don't need protection! I can take care of myself."

Okay, that might not have been the best choice of words. She apparently didn't like being protected especially when her family might be in danger.

"Think, Bethany! I don't want to stand back and watch Hawke, Carver and Aveline fighting for their lives either! But there is nothing we can do. Look around. There are too many eyes. We would be locked up before we had a chance to protest and there is a strong possibility that Carver or Hawke would be hurt or killed protecting you."

Bethany deflated at this but Leandra had another smirk on her face and what she said next really surprised me.

"Or you." Okay, what? Alright, I get the fact that I got off to a pretty good start by saving Leandra's life but that doesn't mean Carver or Hawke are ready to risk death for me. Are they? I was mulling this over when Bethany spoke back up.

"You're right. I'm sorry for arguing."

"It's alright. I don't exactly want to stand off to the side either but we'll only put everybody in more danger if we act."

So we went over to the merchant's stall while Hawke dealt with the Captain. It wasn't surprising when the fight broke out. Nor was the end result. Every one of the would be rioters were dead and Hawke, Carver and Aveline didn't have so much as a scratch on them. All in all it turned out rather well and the Captain had promised to search for Gamlen.

We waited for three days. Three long days. The only source of entertainment we had found was in irritating the merchant who was a bit of a bastard. We went broke merely buying bread from him. 3 sovereigns gone just like that.

The only really good thing to happen was that I got to know everybody better. I found that I really did understand Carver and because I didn't show any favoritism to his sister he seemed to open up to me. We may not be friends yet but we were well on our way. He seemed like any other guy I had known and I really could connect with him.

Bethany really was as sweet a girl as she seemed. I walked around with her as she helped those families who were willing. By the time the three days were up there was no more disease at the docks or in the Gallows. I found out that she didn't really enjoy having magic. She would rather be normal then put this strain on her family. She hated that they had to run so much when she was younger. She even opened up to me a bit and explained how she dreamed that there would be a day when she didn't need to hide who she was. I could definitely understand that. It must be frustrating to go through life and every day you have to lie and hide who you are to somebody.

Leandra had quickly become my surrogate mother. Being cut off from my old life had deprived me of several things I didn't realize I still needed. A mother's support being probably the biggest thing I missed. Leandra seemed to understand and actually seemed to relish having two new children. She certainly treated Aveline like part of the family and another daughter. It actually helped convince people that we were all a family. Her hair was much more the color typically associated with red-heads while mine was more of an auburn. We both had the same green eyes. It didn't feel forced when Leandra treated us like family and that helped us both feel accepted rather quickly.

Aveline was a tough woman to get to know. She was very set in her beliefs and while overall she was good there was still apart of her that wanted to uphold the law to the written word, which could be a very bad thing especially from Bethany's and my perspective. We were apostates and law dictated we should be locked away with the key thrown away. Thankfully, she seemed to value our friendship more. She was still a hard woman to be around. She was so morally upright that Hawke took it as a personal challenge to get her to actually laugh. It took the better part of two days but she had finally succeeded after telling stories about her time in the King's Army.

That was something I really should have paid attention to back then. When Hawke sets her mind on something there really is no stopping her no matter how stubborn or oblivious that person is.

Those three days with Hawke only reestablished what I had already observed. She is a fun, sarcastic but very caring woman. We seemed to hit it off almost immediately and I had no doubt if we were back home my friends would agree that she belonged in our inner circle.

Finally, on the third day Gamlen showed up much to everybody's excitement. That didn't last long though as Gamlen quickly explained the situation. The twit had lost the estate and the only way we could get into the city was to either join with Meeran and the Red Irons or Athenril and her group of smugglers. Nobody seemed particularly thrilled by these choices.

So Hawke led Bethany, Carver, Aveline and myself away from Gamlen and Leandra and towards Meeran. After getting the gist of things from him Hawke informed him that she would be back shortly with her decision. Hawke then led us to Athenril and again got information. We walked back to the courtyard as the others debated the merits of each choice. Carver was definitely in favor of the Red Irons as it certainly fit his strengths to a tee. Aveline also was pro-mercenary which to me seemed more like a lesser of two evils thing. Hawke wanted to join Athenril which seemed to fit her rogue sensibilities a little better. Bethany didn't voice her opinion on the matter and it was clear she was leaving things up to her siblings.

Me? I was on board with Hawke in wanting to work for Athenril. It was more practical to me. Being a mage I needed to stay out of the limelight as much as possible. It was easier to keep hidden from the right eyes in the underworld of Kirkwall. Carver feeling like even though Hawke was outnumbered was going to overrule him and his choice and looked ready to blow a gasket. I needed to stop this now! The last three days they had seemed really close. I didn't want them to revert back to their old bickering selves.

"Guys!" I shouted to stop all the arguing. "Why are we debating this? Carver and Aveline want to work for Meeran and Hawke wants to work for Athenril so I say that's what happens. Nobody said we all had to choose the same job. I don't doubt that Carver and Aveline would be better suited as Mercenaries while Hawke will probably have more success with Athenril."

"What about you and Bethany?" Carver asked as he seemed to accept this compromise.

"I can't speak for Bethany but I think it would be best if I joined Hawke in the Athenril camp. Due to my circumstances, I can't exactly go running around out in the open and working for the Red Irons that is a guarantee. With Athenril I can remain hidden from the Templars."

Carver surprisingly didn't argue with my assessment, he merely nodded his agreement. I was watching Aveline out of the corner of my eye and she was apparently not happy about the way this conversation was going. The one thing I absolutely hate about Aveline is that everybody needs to live up to her standards and morals. It was about to rear its head.

"Sean's right there. Bethany, I think it would be safer for you to go with Sean and Marian but the choice is yours."

Bethany thought it over for a minute and finally nodded.

"You're right of course," a smirk curled up the corner of her mouth. "I never saw myself as a mercenary anyway."

And here it comes. In three ... two ... one ...

"WHAT? I can't believe you're saying this! Smuggling is wrong! It is illegal! I can't believe you would just ignore the laws of the land!"

You know I was planning on being nice to her but now the gloves are off.

"Is smuggling any worse than killing ... for money? That's exactly what you're signing up to do now and exactly what you did back in Fereldan! Those very laws you seem so intent on upholding also say that Bethany and I deserve to be locked up for no reason then the magic born within us. That's how wrong some of those laws are that you wish to uphold. As for smuggling being wrong, you'd be surprised at how much good smuggling actually does. It gets things to the people who need them the most. You'd be surprised at how often that smuggled goods saves somebody's life. But you ... you are going to criticize us for making the best of a bad situation by choosing not to kill people for money. Get off your high horse!"

Yeah, I just stole Isabela's line. Even still Aveline needed to hear it. Aveline was staring at me in shock but I wasn't about to stick around to find out what else she had to say. I needed to calm down so I walked off a short distance.

By the time I calmed down Hawke and Bethany were heading towards me.

"Are you alright?" Hawke asked to which I nodded.

"Yeah, it just irritates me that some people can be so ignorant. I'll be fine as long as she learns that I'm not her and I don't have the same morals as she does."

Hawke smirks slightly at this and even Bethany lets out a small chuckle.

"I think she found that out just now. It's certainly refreshing to have somebody around who understands my point of view. Do you know how bad this would be if neither one of you were here? I'd be sandwiched between Carver and Aveline and that is definitely not a pleasant spot to be. Come on. Standing here won't deal with Athenril's problem. We'll meet the others back here when we are done."

With that I followed Hawke to the merchant's stall who was in business with Athenril. He was dealing with yet another unsatisfied customer. Big surprise since he ripped people off royally. Hawke dealt with the man herself and got the sovereigns for Athenril. It was actually rather boring for me and Bethany. The most I got to do was put my hand on the hilt of Frost Bite. After informing Athenril that we had completely the task and that it would only be the three of us who would be taking her offer.

We made our way back to the courtyard where Carver and Aveline were just arriving. There was blood splattered on their armor. There was frown planted on Aveline's face and it only grew when she saw that we obviously didn't get into any sort of fight. In fact, the only reason we took so long getting back is because Hawke enjoyed toying with that merchant. It didn't take long to confirm that they had completed their entry into the Red Irons and that our time in Kirkwall had really begun. A year in servitude. Sounds exciting.

* * *

Our year spent in servitude was an interesting time to say the least. Carver and Aveline became a force in the Red Irons and had they probably would have advanced up to the top of the ranks if not for the circumstances surrounding their employment. I would have been jealous if I wasn't trying to stay out of the Templars' radar.

Hawke, Bethany and myself became invaluable to Athenril. Hawke in particular seemed to thrive in our current situation. She was our eyes and ears and hands and brain. It was incredible to watch her work. Bethany and I seemed to provide muscle and nothing else.

I had never been the sneakiest of people but Hawke seemed to take it upon herself to train me to the best of her ability. She also thought it would be a good idea to train me to dual wield as she herself did. That's not to say she didn't have the ability to be an archer as she was quite skilled at hunting when our job took us out into the country surrounding Kirkwall.

Aveline also felt the need to train me in the use of a shield. She did realize I would not be best suited to be the defender that she was but she thought it was a good idea to offer me some protection. She taught me to the best of her ability on how to use the shield both offensively and defensively.

Carver joined in as my sparring partner and the foundation of our friendship from the 3 days waiting for Gamlen seemed to flourish. When we weren't performing our duties for Athenril and Meeran we spent a great deal of time at the Hanged Man and about Kirkwall. I seemed to be exactly what Carver was missing from his earlier life, a friend whom he had no secrets. I was that ear that Carver had craved growing up. Somebody who understood but was outside of his problems. If I was caught by the Templars it wouldn't bring ruin to the Hawke family and so he was able to forget that I was a mage.

Bethany and I also got closer over the year. We spent a bit of time together both on the job and in our spare time. We spent a good deal of time training our magic. Hawke made sure to take us out of the city and into the surrounding country often for these sessions. Carver and Aveline would occasionally join us on these trips if they were free from the Red Irons. Bethany was pleasantly surprised to find out I knew a great deal about magic and that she wouldn't have to train a newborn mage. I was actually able to help her more than the other way around. Not with magic but with my knowledge from home. In many respects Thedas is a lot like England during the Dark Ages. My knowledge of modern medicine and the human body had Bethany's eyes shining. This girl could easily become a better healer than Anders with the knowledge I shared. My crush on Bethany definitely grew during this time. There was no denying how beautiful she was but she was also smart. A deadly combination if I do say so myself.

Hawke had to be about the easiest person to be around. She got along with everybody and a great many of them seemed to be interested in her as more than just friends. Nothing ever materialized from what I had seen. Hawke always seemed to be around, too and not in a bad way either. She'd let Carver and me go off or Bethany and me to do our mage stuff but she was never very far away. With as close as I felt to both Carver and Bethany it was nothing compared to what I shared with Hawke. She was without doubt my best friend. Whenever I was feeling depressed Hawke was quick to offer support and when I was angry beyond belief Hawke was able to calm me down with a joke. As much time as I spent with Carver, Bethany and Aveline I spent even more with Hawke. Hawke reminded me of all the best parts of my friends from home. She was just easy to be around and I found myself enjoying her company more and more as time went on.

My living arrangements were less than stellar. I shared a small apartment in Lowtown with Aveline that we were barely able to prepare. Neither one of us were very good cooks either so we quickly came to an arrangement with the Hawkes. We would help out with the food but Leandra, Bethany and surprisingly Hawke would be in charge of cooking it.

Not surprisingly I met Varric well before our year was up. That's not to say I spent all my free time getting drunk or anything but once a week I'd go out with Carver and another night all of us would go out ... when we could manage to convince Aveline.

Varric may as well have owned The Hanged Man. Everybody knew to go to him for anything, whether that be help or a good story. So it came as a surprise when he came up to me one night. Carver had left about five minutes before and I sat alone at the table. I was nursing my last drink of the night as sat back and enjoyed the music from the minstrel. Varric didn't say anything just sat next to me and handed me an ale. I nodded in thanks and we both sat back and enjoyed the music.

From then on I made sure to at least say hello to Varric when I was in the Hanged Man. I also promised to pay him back for the round when I could actually afford it to which he waved me off. Varric was a few years older than us but younger I think then Aveline.

About six months in to our year-long service, Aveline announced her intention of joining the Guard and began training. Two months later, I got home from a long night smuggling to find Aveline packing her things up to move into the barracks. I was out a roommate but it was Carver who really had it bad. The Red Irons were not happy and only Hawke and myself stepping in to offer our aid kept things from getting really ugly.

Athenril wasn't happy with this development and tried to force us to stay in her service longer than the year originally agreed upon. This caused some friction between Hawke and Athenril despite how well they had gotten along before. I think there was something else going on and the glare Athenril sent in my direction on several occasions over the past month had me wondering just what had happened. I had an idea that Hawke had shot down her advances but that didn't explain Athenril glaring at me. It's not like I had anything to do with Hawke shooting her down.

That month seemed to take longer than the rest of the year. I could taste the freedom on my tongue. At one point, I had thought to stay on with Athenril to continue earning some cash but those thoughts had ended at this point. With only a week remaining on our contracts Hawke had heard news of Bartrand's pending venture to the Deep Roads. The only problem was that we had to wait until our contracts were up to offer our services. I knew that by then we'd be too late so I talked to Varric about it. He seemed amenable to the idea as he heard a lot about Hawke and Carver as well as a little about Bethany and me. So things look set for the real challenges.

As our year of servitude ended I felt that it had been really productive. I knew more about the magic that I was somehow born with in a world free of magic and I was much more confident in my sword play. I also seemed to have a good balance with some skills as a warrior and rogue. If you can't stand out in one way make sure you know enough of everything so you will be useful later on.

Caress also seemed happy with my progress in learning to master the Fade. She taught me a great deal over the course of the year and I was feeling more and more confident in my abilities to fight off whatever came for me. Which was a good thing because things were certainly about to get more and more interesting in Kirkwall. For better or worse I was with Hawke until the end and I was going to try to turn things to the best possible outcome.

I hope I am up to it.

* * *

**A/N: So after replaying DA2 over the weekend I found out that there actually is a Desire Demon named Caress from Feynriel's dream. This wasn't intended. It had simply slipped my mind. So for the sake of this story that demon won't be known as Caress. It really wasn't my intension to take a name for a Desire Demon already used by Bioware. So I apologize if anybody may have thought they were one and the same. **


	6. Chapter 6: Looking For Work

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Dragon Age 2 and all characters. Sean and Caress are my own**

* * *

I was in the Fade again. Like I was every night. Actually it's more like morning. Most smuggling operations take place at night after all. I wasn't a smuggler any more though. Last night was my last in the employ of Athenril. I think she was happy to get rid of me. She tried to convince Hawke to stay on though but Hawke wanted to get us out of Lowtown. She couldn't do that by working for Athenril.

Last night was rather fun though. We finished up early and were surprised when Carver showed up with an expensive bottle of whiskey he swiped from Meeran. There was a storm brewing off the coast which wasn't really surprising. The Waking Sea was constantly stormy. Sailors had it rough out there. Hawke, Bethany, Carver and myself toasted our freedom and then proceeded to get drunk. Well everybody except Bethany. She was much too responsible for that. We were looking out over the Waking Sea and we could see two ships caught in the storm. A loud concussive sounded and the lead ship floundered. It struck me then that we were watching Isabela's entrance into Kirkwall ... and the Qunari. I hate Qunari. They are zealots plain and simple. They choose to ignore the laws of Kirkwall but would punish others for breaking theirs. I hate double standards. I had enough of that in my old life.

Eventually, we called it a night and Hawke helped me stagger home. I fell into bed and was out like a light. Which brought me to the Fade and the present. Caress waved me over with a smile on her face. After a year, I've come to believe fully in Caress. There is no doubt to me that she is my friend. A thought struck me then. I wonder what Anders, Fenris and Merrill would think about my friend. Merrill probably would be supportive, Anders, the abomination that he is, would lecture me, and Fenris would want to do that glowing hand thing and rip out my heart. Yeah, I don't like the idea of that. I think that Fenris needs to be kept in the dark, at all costs.

"Fear not, my friend. They are not yet among your friends."

"No, not yet but soon. Our year is up, Caress. I know I told you all about that. I've already met Varric and I'm pretty sure that I saw Isabela's ship last night. She should be at the Hanged Man within days. All this preparation and I still don't know if I'm ready. I need to make sure that we get through Kirkwall the best we can."

Caress gave my shoulder a squeeze in support.

"You worry too much, my friend. All you can do is take things one day at a time and yet you are worrying about what is to come years from now. While it is a sign of wisdom to consider how one's actions might impact the future, it is also a hindrance if you are too afraid to act."

Wow! Caress just blew my mind with that. Is she right? Am I so worried about the damage I might do that I might be too afraid to act when the time comes? This gives me something else to think about but for now I'll put my trust in Hawke like I have since the moment I got here.

"You're right. I have to stop worrying myself over this. It's not like I'm in charge anyway. I follow Hawke willing."

"You do. I doubt you even realize how deeply you trust her."

What's that supposed to mean? I trust Hawke with my life. How much more can you trust some one? Caress only smiled in response to my thoughts. Yeah, I still haven't gotten over the fact that she can read my mind. It's disconcerting to say the least.

Caress decided that the rest of my time in the Fade tonight should be in relative peace and so she made small talk. It was nice to just sit and talk to her without having to think about the giant storm cloud hanging over all of us all. Time seemed to pass by quicker than usual and I was pulled from the Fade and back to my body.

* * *

I groaned as I became aware of my surroundings. There was somebody pounding on my door and my body ached in places I didn't even want to mention. Of course I probably wouldn't be in so much pain if I had taken my armor off when I got home. At least it wouldn't take long to get ready.

"I'm coming! Hold your horses!" I shouted to whoever was banging on the door.

I rinsed my mouth out and washed my face in the small tub I had set aside for these things. This place was cramped. Before Aveline moved out I had to sleep on the floor so I wasn't exactly complaining that she was gone because it freed up a lot of space. Too bad I didn't have anything to fill it with. I was barely able to afford food and my clothes were getting ratty. My armor had seen better days too. Thankfully, Athenril had supplied all of us with new arms and armor when we started working for her.

Apparently, I was taking too long and my door was kicked open. I had several thoughts on who would kick up my door and the most obvious choices were Aveline or Templars. Neither thought was very pleasant. I spun on my heel and came face to face with a grinning Carver. I let out a sigh of relief before letting him have it.

"Damn, Carver! You gave me a heart attack! And you broke my door! Now I'm going to have fix the damn thing and I've never been the best handyman."

Carver simply snorts at this.

"Ha! Do you know how many doors I had to fix growing up? It was a way of life on the farm."

"Yeah. I'm not a farmer, Carver. I never had to fix a door or milk a cow or any number of things you had to do growing up. And as little as I may have to actually steal, I'd like to at least try and keep the unwanted out."

Carver just shook his head once fixed the door on it's hinge and had it fixed in about five minutes flat. I think my jaw had hit the floor. Sure, I probably could have done that but I would have needed somebody to hold the door in place for me. Carver did it all ... by himself. I shook my head in disbelief and decided to get to the matter at hand.

"So what had you banging on my door anyway?"

"Marian and Bethany are going up to Hightown to talk to Bartrand. I told them I'd get you and we'd meet them there."

I followed Carver out into the streets of Lowtown and towards Hightown before continuing on with my line of questions.

"So we're going on this mad venture into the Deep Roads then?"

"That's the plan. Marian seems to think we'll be able to find enough down there to buy back the old Amell estate."

"What do you think about all this?"

"Honestly? I don't like the thought of chasing an old life but we need to do something otherwise we'll be like all the other Fereldan refugees in this city."

"I can't see Leandra wanting any of you to go down to the Deep Roads."

"She doesn't. I think she understands Marian wanting to provide for the family but she isn't exactly pleased with the direction she decided to go. I don't trust this Bartrand though. He's just like that idiot merchant from the Gallows."

I laughed at that. Bartrand was actually quite a bit like that guy. I think it has to do with being merchants or something. I wonder if it's in their handbook that they must be an ass to anybody beneath them in society. It's a flawed system to say the least. If that person you were an ass to suddenly rises up, like Hawke will in a year or so, then you have to kiss their ass to make up for the crap way you treated them in the first place. People are stupid and that's all there is to it.

"Don't worry so much about Bartrand. He's an ass no doubt about it but I know his brother, who is the exact opposite of Bartrand. I actually had a talk with him a couple days ago about our situation. He said that if Bartrand is stupid enough to turn away such skilled help as what we are offering then he'll offer us another way to get onto the expedition."

Carver stopped and stared at me in surprise.

"You did all that?" I nodded in assent. "It's nice to have other people have you back every now and than."

I smiled at that and slugged him in the shoulder.

"Carver, my friend, I'll always have your back. Unless you go on some sort of murderous rampage or something. I might have to draw the line then."

Carver laughed at this and we resumed our walk up into Hightown. We walked through the Merchant's district and caught the tale end of Hawke's conversation with Bartrand. We also saw the thief swipe Hawke's coin purse which had Carver drawing his sword. I simply put a hand on his arm to stall him and shook my head.

"Watch."

I had seen Varric ahead of us and knew what was about to happen. Varric pulled Bianca and shot the would-be thief in the shoulder. Carver's jaw dropped at that accurate shot.

"Told you," I said with a smile. "That's Varric, Bartrand's brother. Let's join the fun, shall we?" I asked Carver and led him towards the others.

"Varric Tethras, at your service. I apologize for Bartrand, he wouldn't know an opportunity if it hit him square in the jaw."

"Varric, I thought we already established that your brother's an ass?"

All eyes were suddenly on me and Carver. Nobody had really been paying attention to our approach.

"Tunes! I didn't think you were going to make it?" Varric shot back.

Yeah, Varric didn't take much time in coming up with a nickname for me. I think that I constantly stayed later then everybody else just to listen to the minstrel made it rather easy for him. I actually liked it. I played a bit myself. If there was one thing I wish I could have brought with me it was my acoustic guitar. The thing was old and I bought it cheap at a second hand store but it played beautifully. Yeah, I definitely need to see if I can get one made when we start making money.

"I told you I'd be here, Varric."

"Tunes?" Hawke asked with a smirk on her face.

"Varric likes giving people nicknames. It's part of his storyteller nature. Anyways, we met in the Hanged Man listening to the minstrel. He started calling me Tunes that night. I'm actually more surprised you guys haven't met yet. It's not like we're never in the Hanged Man and Varric lives there."

Hawke shrugged her shoulders at this.

"You'd be surprised how often it happens. We were a little preoccupied with our lives at the time but now it seems we have mutual need."

"Right you are," Varric said in the break. "Bartrand's been pulling his hair out trying to fund this expedition. Invest in the expedition. 50 sovereigns ahead and there is no way Bartrand can refuse you. Not with me there to vouch for you."

Hawke actually outright laughed at this. She looked at me though with a smirk on her face.

"This was your plan?" She then looked back to Varric. "If I had that much coin I wouldn't need this expedition."

"You need to think big. There's only so much time after a Blight that the Deep Roads remain relatively free of Dark Spawn. There's odd jobs all around the city. I'll keep my eyes and ears open and in no time you can raise the 50 sovereigns."

Hawke actually looked interested. There were a lot of jobs in Kirkwall that could use our skills. It was clear though that Hawke wanted our opinion on the matter. I nudged Carver and gave him a look.

"Sister, this expedition is exactly what we need. We raise the coin and strike big in the Deep Roads and there is nothing we couldn't do. We could start up our own mercenary company or anything else."

Bethany was nodding in agreement.

"It will help us get the coin and status to keep the Templars off our backs. We could buy the Estate back for mother. Please, sister."

Hawke looked to me next and I shrugged my shoulders with a small smile on my face.

"I'm with you, Hawke. You know that. Whatever you decide I'll be there."

The smile Hawke directed at me was dazzling. It's like I gave her everything she needed with that one statement.

"Alright, Varric. We have a deal."

"Good. I'll go with you for now but if I'm not with you and you need me I'll be at the Hanged Man like Tunes said."

With that decided we made our way up to the Keep. It was time to check in with Aveline. The last few months had treated her pretty good. She was now a Lieutenant in the Guard but my thoughts were a bit preoccupied with that smile.

I'd like to think I'm fairly intelligent and quick on the take but now I'm beginning to wonder. Does Hawke actually like me as more than just friends? If that's the case how did I miss it? Sure it's not like she had actually come out and said as much but I think it has more to do with that she's waiting on me. I'm assuming that if she does like me that way that she doesn't want to pressure me. I have been fairly clear in my attraction to Bethany but ... if I had to choose between Hawke and Bethany who would I choose?

I don't know if I really have an answer for that. Not yet anyway. There was no denying that I enjoyed both their company but I just wasn't sure about anything else. I guess I don't really feel like I have much to offer either one of them. As an apostate I will put whoever I'm with at risk. I guess the biggest reason I've been fixated on Bethany for the last year is that I wouldn't really be changing anything for her. She'd still be on the look out for Templars. Hawke is a little different. She has the choice to protect her sister and myself. Something tells me I know what her choice would be. In the end, there was nothing I was going to do about it now. I still needed to search myself and find out how I truly felt. If I did feel as strongly about Hawke as I was beginning to expect I did than I needed to make my choice and soon. Otherwise, I would have lots of competition competing for Hawke's attention.

In any event these were thoughts for another time. We made our way into the barracks where we quickly spotted Aveline going over the duty roster. Huh, must be nice to stand around all day and do nothing. Okay, I should probably lay off Aveline a bit. Despite all the negative things I say about her we are actually friends. Actually, we're more like siblings. Siblings who fight ... a lot. She is definitely the older sister that think she knows everything and I'm the younger, rebellious brother that does everything she says not to. Yeah, I do actually love Aveline, in a brotherly fashion. That doesn't mean I agree with her about everything ... or anything for that matter.

"Aveline!" Hawke exclaimed.

"Hello Hawke;" While Aveline responded it was in a distracted way.

"It's been a while," came Hawke's confused response to which Aveline spun around and actually addressed us.

"Oh sorry. It seems like I just saw you." Aveline continued on and explained how she knew. Of course she agreed with me about Bartrand being an ass. Hawke however wasn't paying attention to that. She didn't seem to happy about something.

"You know I don't like it when you have me watched!" Unlike in the game though she continued on. "I think you lost that right when you broke your end of the agreement with Meeran! You do realize that Sean and I had to cover for you, right? We worked two jobs so you could go off and join the guard! And you left Sean to pay for rent on his own! Rent that the two of you could barely cover!"

Aveline seemed to deflate at this. She hadn't exactly been around in the last couple months and so she had no idea how tough things were. Believe it or not we were better off being unemployed as we were then when we were in servitude. I think what convinced Aveline the most about how badly she had screwed up with all of us was that we had all lost some weight. She remained the same size as when we first arrived in Kirkwall but I for one had lost about 10 pounds or so.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about what would happen if I just up and left. All I thought about was how much I hated that life. Sean was right. Killing for money is not pleasant and I thought I could do some good in the guard. I shouldn't have abandoned you though and for that I am sorry."

Hawke actually looked to me and Carver before she answered. We were the ones who had really suffered for what she had done. If it wasn't for the Hawkes I probably would have went hungry over the last couple months. We both nodded to Hawke to show her our support.

"Very well, Aveline. Carver and Sean seem willing to move past the last couple of months and so will I but I only give one free pass."

Aveline nodded her agreement before going on to discuss a situation brewing out near the Wounded Coast. Apparently, there were bandits or something in the area who were likely to prey upon merchant caravans and Aveline needed our help in clearing it out. The money was good which was definitely the deciding factor in Hawke agreeing to help Aveline. The biggest difference between Hawke and Aveline is that Hawke feels she should be paid for what she does. Aveline constantly feels that we should do things out of the kindness of our heart. I can understand that sentiment but kindness doesn't put food on the table. Kindness doesn't put clothes and armor on us. Kindness is great when you can afford to be kind. Right now we don't have that option. We are struggling just to get by.

"If we're going out into the country we should probably bring that amulet to the Dalish for Flemeth." Carver offered. I could only nod in agreement. It's best to take care of everything out in the country at once.

"There's still the matter of the maps, Hawke. We should get to the Grey Warden first before we head out into the country." Varric added his two cents. Personally, I was with Varric. Let's get everybody recruited tonight and maybe in a day or two head out to the country. These were things that needed to be planned. It wouldn't make sense just to wander out into the countryside without some sort of plan.

"I'm with Varric on this one. There are still things to do in Kirkwall. I say we split up in pairs and look for jobs. We can meet back at the Hanged Man in a couple of hours and discuss our course of action from there." I added my two cents on the matter. Hawke nodded in agreement.

"That sounds like our best course of action. For now I think it best that I get to know Varric better so I will go with him around Hightown. Aveline, you and Bethany should search around Lowtown. Carver and Sean, I'd suggest sticking to the Docks and if you really want check around the Gallows, I heard a rumor that there is a herbalist who needs some help getting some rare ingredients."

There were no arguments with our assignments. Varric knew who to talk to in Hightown and Aveline had some contacts in Lowtown. Carver and myself had spent quite a bit of our time at the Docks and I wasn't overly concerned about making a quick stop at the Gallows. So we set off and went our separate ways.

We made our way down to the Docks where we start our search and were surprised when a runner came up to Carver and handed him a note. Carver looked it over and then handed me the note. Apparently, Meeran needed help. We needed to find a Red Iron named Gustav and make sure that he had killed his target, which happened to be a noble. It was supposed to be happening down at the Docks so it was definitely something we could look into.

"What do you think?" I asked Carver, who merely shrugged in response.

"We need the coin but I'm not about to kill somebody without at least finding out what he did first."

I nodded in agreement. "Okay, so we deal with this little problem while we're there. I have to say that I don't exactly expect a lot of work to come our way down at the Docks or the Gallows for that matter." Carver merely nodded in agreement.

"I don't expect to either but it's better that we take care of everything in the city we can before heading out to the country. Who knows how long that could take."

So we were off to the Docks. It didn't take long to get there especially to those who had been in the city for awhile. It didn't take us long to find Gustav either. He was surrounded by a group of guards. All hell broke loose as we were dragged into combat. I was limited in what I could do as well. I had no intention of announcing my magical ability to members of the city guard but I did have my sword play to fall back on. I cut off Gustav's escape as his men dealt with the city guard. Gustav tried to get by me but he forgot about Carver who stopped him cold with a pummel strike that broke his nose. Gustav went down and was bleeding rather profusely. I stood guard while Carver dealt with him. This was his old employers we were dealing with after all. He knew how slimy Meeran was. Gustav really didn't like this assignment though and I couldn't blame him. This high profile a job was likely to result in death for the poor bastard. Lord Harimann also offered the reason for the bounty on his head. Apparently, he had convinced the Viscount to send aid to Fereldan during the Blight and that caused him to make some enemies.

Really? Are people that stupid? If that Blight were to spread it would swallow the world but there were actually people who wanted to see others suffer for their own gain. It made me sick. In the end Carver let Lord Harimann go and promised him to get the Red Irons off his back. Lord Harimann actually paid us a couple sovereigns for deciding not to kill him. So this was a little different then I remember but still worth it.. Only 48 sovereigns to go.

After that was finished up we heard another commotion at the dock furthest to the southeast. We pulled our weapons free and joined in the battle. It was clear who were the aggressors in this. Here I was able to use my magic to full effect and froze several targets with a cone of cold. I then finished them off by sending chain lightning at them. Carver cut down the Carta Dwarves with brutal efficiency. I still think that sword is obscene but at this point I know that it will never be pointed at me and that makes me feel considerably more happy about it.

The Carta was dispatched quickly and then we were addressed by Lord Renvil Harrowmont. So Bhelen was King of Orzammar then. I got that most people didn't like Bhelen but I always found myself to be more practical unless I played as Aeducan. Bhelen would improve things and possibly save the Dwarves from themselves while Harrowmont would close them off even more from the rest of the world and practically lead them to disaster.

In any case, we agreed to help Harrowmont deal with the Carta, who were preventing him taking ship out of Kirkwall. We literally made it up the stairs before a Carta Lieutenant approached us and tried to bribe us into killing Harrowmont. Do we look like murderers to these people? I laughed when Carver responded by cutting the Lieutenant's head clean off. The rest of the Carta was caught unprepared as we unleashed hell on them.

After about 20 minutes of hard work we were a sovereign richer. Seriously, the pay rate is outstanding here. It sure beats minimum wage back home.

"That looks like about all we can do at the docks." Carver was in agreement.

"Come on, let's get to the Gallows. If we finish up there quick enough we may even get in a pint before everybody else shows up."

That sounded good to me so we jumped on the little skiff that provided the quickest transportation to the Gallows from here. There were other ways of course but this was the easiest.

I wasn't really worried about going to the Gallows as this was a quick in and out sort of deal. Also, I didn't exactly look like a mage so the Templars wouldn't be able to pick me out of a crowd or anything like that. Even still I wanted this to be done and over with.

We docked and then asked the first Templar we saw where the herbalist shop was. He directed us over to the far corner and sent us on our way. When we approached Sol he asked for our help before we could offer it. I couldn't help but laugh when he asked us to remedy his problem.

"Remedy that? A potions jot. You my good man are priceless." Okay, so I stole Hawke's line. So sue me. It still needed to be said. It's not my fault it was only Carver and myself getting this task.

"Don't mind my friend. What do you need us to do?" Carver asked.

"Just get everything on this list and I will pay you a sovereign for each of the rare ingredients."

He handed us a list that showed he needed Pure Ironbark, a Dragon's Fang and a Spider's Silk Gland. Yeah, I didn't like that last one. Call me crazy but I don't like spiders. Especially giant ones that can eat me. Dragons I'm fine with but giant spiders are creepy. Carver pocketed the list and smiled over at me.

"So to the Hanged Man?" He asked.

"To the Hanged Man!" I responded with a smile of my own.

Yeah, this was a productive day. Much more productive than it would have been had we all stuck together. We were certainly going to get things done a little quicker than we would have in the game if Hawke continued to pair us off like this. With our assigned tasks complete we made our way to the Hanged Man to enjoy a pint. We might not have to wait long for the others since we actually had some fighting to do. Hawke and Varric were probably already there. Thinking about it we were probably the last ones done since we had the furthest to travel. We'd see when we get there.


	7. Chapter 7: Decisions and Declarations

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Dragon Age and all related material. Sean and Caress are my own. **

* * *

Carver and I sat in the Hanged Man drinking a pint of ale. We were waiting for the others, who apparently had a more eventful time of job hunting. We were actually up in Varric's room using his table since this would end up being a business meeting as soon as everybody else got there.

To kill the time Carver had told me stories about growing up in the Hawke household. I couldn't help this weird feeling that hit me when he mentioned Hawke's first boyfriend she had been caught making out with. I really didn't like the thought of Hawke kissing anybody else.

Leave it to Carver to cut through all the crap and make me see the truth that I had been willfully ignoring. I had feelings for Hawke that went beyond friendship and I had no doubt been making her a little upset by not only ignoring them but by thinking that I felt more for Bethany than I actually did. I liked Bethany but not in the same way. Just being with Hawke made my day.

I sighed and let my head fall to the table with a thump. I could hear Carver's chuckle.

"I am such an idiot," I said into the table.

"No arguments there," Carver replied cheekily. "What is it you're an idiot about this time?"

I let out another sigh. No doubt Carver knew what it was. His story led directly up to my reaction.

"Hawke."

"Ah! Finally got your head out of your ass, did you?"

"Yes."

"And?" Carver asked.

"And?" I repeated. I was only really able to get out one word answers at this point.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know." Wow! More than one word. I was on a roll.

"What's the problem? You like her and she likes you. It should be easy."

"That's what you'd think but I haven't had the best of luck in my previous relationships. I always manage to screw things up. I'm not exactly the smoothest talker either. I never know what to say and I don't want that to happen with Hawke. I really like her Carver. More than I've liked any girl before, you know."

Carver leaned back in his chair and took a drink of his ale before answering.

"It's not as difficult as your making things seem. Your problem is you are over-thinking things. Look, you've spent over a year with us and I think it's fair to say you have no problem speaking to my sister. You two are practically inseparable. If I couldn't see how the two of you felt about each other I'd be jealous of all the time you spend together."

"You should tell her." A third voice broke in.

"Bethany?" I blurted out in a rather unmanly voice. I hate surprises in the middle of a serious conversation. Bethany had a smirk on her face and a teasing look on her face.

"Everybody knows how you feel about each other but you are both too stubborn to say anything to each other."

"What?" I asked rather unintelligently.

"She's right. If you wait this will never get resolved," added Aveline.

Great another person I didn't want to be here for this conversation. Aveline irritates me the most though because I know how she's going to be in about 3 years with Donnic. I don't have it that bad. True I'm afraid of screwing things up but this is about more than mutual attraction. This is about a woman who has been my best friend since the day I arrived in Thedas. If I screw things up then not only do I lose a woman I care for maybe even love but also my best friend. The thought was absolutely terrifying. The blood had drained from my face.

"What's wrong?" Bethany asked as she readied a healing spell. She was always quick with those.

"He's over-thinking things again." Carver stated with a smirk.

Yeah, that's not helping Carver. There's only one thing that can help this. I grabbed my tankard and downed my ale. Refreshing as always if a little on the weak side. I am Canadian after all and if there is one thing we know it's our beer.

"What's up with him?" Hawke asked as she entered the room with horrible timing.

I gasped which was a mistake as there was still ale in my mouth. My face turned red as I began hacking up a lung. Carver, Bethany and Aveline found great amusement in this and were too busy laughing to answer Hawke. Varric entered the room with Norah behind him carrying a tray of drinks. Varric treated his friends good.

"What's with, Tunes? Drink go down the wrong hole?"

The laughter coming from Bethany, Carver and Aveline must have been contagious as Hawke and Varric joined in laughing at my misery. Between coughs I was able to choke out a somewhat audible response.

"I ... will ... re ... member ... this ... you bastards."

This caused them to laugh even harder. Yeah, now I was really beginning to hate them. It wasn't enough that I was already nervous as hell about how I would go about telling Hawke how I felt about her. Now I had to deal with the embarrassment of inhaling ale right when Hawke walked in the room.

"Ah, don't be like that. We're just teasing you," Hawke said.

"Oh, I don't know about that sister. If you had walked in the room a couple minutes earlier you might have been just as embarrassed." Carver said with a smirk on his face.

"What?" Hawke asked in confusion. Oh no! Not like this Carver. I need to tell her!

"He's not lying. I caught the end of their little discussion and while I'm sure you'd be interested in knowing what they were talking about it would definitely be embarrassing for you."

Hawke was feeling uncomfortable and looked to me for help. Heat flushed my face and I tried my best to hide it but I know Hawke caught it. I could just see the little wheels turning in her head. I could see the moment it clicked in her head and she flushed with her own blush. Her bright blue eyes where locked on mine and I could see the question in them.

Every eye at the table was looking between the two of us wondering exactly what would happen. I realized I had to do this. I couldn't leave Hawke hanging there like that. I cared about her too much to allow her the embarrassment of me keeping my mouth shut. What should I say though? How do I say exactly how I feel without leaving any doubt in her mind? Then it hit me. It's all or nothing.

I practically jumped to my feet and crossed the table to Hawke. The question was still hanging in the air between us and she arched an eyebrow as I made my way over to her. I brushed my hand across her cheek and slid it back to her neck. I pulled her in as our eyes became half-lidded. Our lips met and my world shrunk. All that existed in that time was her. She was my entire world in that moment. I felt her body press up against mine and I suddenly hated the armor I wore. I hated anything that stood between me and this woman. This woman who had me suddenly believing that maybe there was a Maker. This woman who had come to mean everything to me. I forgot about my world. I forgot about everybody important I left back home. The only thing that mattered was Marian Hawke.

Eventually our lungs burned for air and we pulled back from each other by the merest of inches. Our eyes were locked and I found myself lost in their depths. For a time, all I could feel was Hawke. Her arms were draped loosely over my shoulders and her hands were buried in my hair. My hands had moved down to her hips sometime during our kiss. I was still somewhat nervous though. Was this truly what she wanted? I needed her to confirm that this wasn't some sort of dream that I was torturing myself with.

I didn't have to wait long for my answer as she pulled me back down and our lips met again. This kiss wasn't the declaration our last kiss was instead it was affirmation of what we both felt. Our last kiss had been a question of its own, this one was the answer. We both wanted this to happen. There was no doubt or hesitation from either of us. There was no longer her or I. There was only us. Whatever questions I may have had about why I was here were now answered. She was the reason and I would do anything and everything to protect her and keep her safe.

For the second time we needed to pull back for air. Hawke had a small smile on her face that I had a feeling would be reserved solely for me. My smile mirrored hers as we were still somewhat lost in our own world.

"Well, I guess that settles that." She said in a slightly flirty tone. I gave her hips a squeeze of affection.

"Yeah, I guess it does."

Suddenly, we weren't alone in the room anymore. Our awareness returned to the catcalls of our friends and family and a blush crept up both of our necks. We turned to face our friends, or in this case the firing squad, and I grabbed Hawke's hand in support. She squeezed my hand in both support and for comfort.

"So, ah..." I said unintelligently and looked to Hawke for help.

"Yes, so..." Okay, so apparently neither one of us were going to be able to speak with any sort of elegance or confidence.

Carver just snorted at our near identical expressions. Varric had an amused smirk on his face that was surprisingly matched by Bethany. Aveline was the scary one. Her arms were crossed in front of her over her armor and she was giving me a look that said that if I hurt Hawke she would break me. Yeah, I don't doubt that one bit. I may have magic but I don't think that would be able to stop her if she put her mind to it. She saw the traces of fear on my face and a small smile replaced her frown.

"I think we've made them squirm enough." Aveline said then but Carver was in disagreement.

"Oh no. They haven't squirmed nearly enough. I'm patient though. I'll wait until they tell mother. That will be one show I don't want to miss."

I shifted a little from discomfort. Leandra was a sneaky woman. I remember several subtle and several not-so-subtle hints she had dropped over the past year. I could already picture her self-satisfied smirk when she found out that Hawke and I were now together.

"I'll be sure to tell her when you're not around then Carver."

"I'll just fill him in on the details," Bethany shocked us all. She wasn't as innocent as one might expect. No doubt it was a sign of Malcolm and Hawke's influence.

"Bethany!" Hawke shouted in surprise at her sister. Varric was surprisingly the one who took pity on us.

"I think we should get down to business and let the two lovebirds have a little peace ... for now," He couldn't help adding at the end.

"Right," I added drawing attention away from both Hawke and myself to just me. "We still need to plan our next move. On that front, you'll all be happy to know that Carver and I managed to earn 3 sovereigns already."

Hawke looked surprised and happy at this news.

"At this rate it will take us no time to raise the 50 sovereigns."

We then got into business mode and all made to sit at the table. A bit of reordering had to be done though as Hawke sat in the chair on my right. She gave me a small smile before directing her attention back to the others. It didn't stop me from taking hold of her hand though.

"Right, so Carver why don't you tell us what happened down at the docks?"

Carver then relayed all that we had accomplished starting with Meeran and the Red Irons. It didn't take very long to get all the relevant details out. Finally, Carver finished his explanation up by pulling out the list of rare ingredients for Solivitus.

"Hmm... the Dragon's Fang might be the most difficult to get our hands on unless of course one comes swooping in like Lothering."

"I don't know. In that case swooping was good but generally speaking it's not a good thing. I'm more worried about the Spider's Silk Gland. I don't exactly enjoy the thought of hunting giant spiders."

Everybody was looking at me with some surprise on their faces. Carver was openly laughing at me. Okay, I don't like spiders. I'm a guy and I have no problem admitting that. They are disgusting creatures that's only true worth is measured in how many flies and mosquitoes they eat. Other than that they can all die. Every last one of the disgusting buggers.

"Oh this is rich. Sean is afraid of spiders," and now Bethany of all people was mocking me. Really, what did I do to deserve this? I think these people needed some context.

"Alright, before you all decide just how pathetic I am for my hatred of spiders I think it best that you know that where I am from spiders are small. As in fit in the palm of my hand small. Now, I don't like those spiders but I don't fear them. Here they are big enough to EAT ME! You're damn right I hate the bastards." Hawke still had an amused smile on her face.

"But you're fine with dragons?" She asked.

"I'm fine with dragons. They are natural. Giant spiders are not." Yeah, I was uncomfortable with this and Hawke gave me a sympathetic look.

"We'll be careful and we'll come out in one piece." I could only nod in response to this. Hawke nodded to Aveline for her to begin.

"There wasn't much going on in Lowtown, I'm afraid. Mostly unsubstantiated rumors but big things are coming that much I can promise you. We were able to find a job. We had to eliminate swindlers claiming to have some of Andraste's ashes. We dealt with the problem and were given a sovereign from Sergeant Melindra." Aveline handed the coin and a letter over to Hawke.

"What's this?" Hawke asked.

"It's a letter from Athenril," Bethany responded to which I grumbled at. I used to like Athenril but her treatment of me the past month had soured my opinion of her a bit. Hawke actually smiled at this.

"I turned her down, Sean. You have nothing to worry about from her." The way she worded that wasn't exactly the most reassuring way of saying that. I gave her a look to which she merely laughed at.

"We wouldn't want you to get complacent, now would we?" She asked cheekily.

"No, we would not." I replied full of the same amount of cheekiness. Hawke gave me a soft smile before turning her attention to the letter. It didn't take her long to scan through it.

"Right, it looks like this Anso needs some help recovering his property. He'll be in Lowtown for the next several nights so we'll need to take care of that before we go to Sundermount and to Aveline's ambush."

We all nodded our agreement at this as it made sense.

"Alright, we also need to deal with the Flint Company mercenaries in and around Kirkwall. There is apparently a substantial bounty on their heads for the mass murder of the Vael family who were until very recently the rulers of Starkhaven. Athenril also asked me to help out with a problem she has at the docks tonight. Apparently, she had a deal but she hasn't heard any word from her man, Pryce. She thinks they were set up and we are to either bring Pryce back unharmed or her goods for payment. Also, Hubert, a merchant in Hightown, asked for our help with the Bone Pit. Apparently, he has heard nothing from his workers in sometime and is growing concerned that something may have happened. He asked us to look into it. It will no doubt extend the journey by several days however so we may not get to it before returning to the city." Hawke looked around at us to see if we had any questions. There was none so she directed Varric to begin his tale.

"Earlier I mentioned a Grey Warden and maps. Here's the thing. We know where we need to get to but we need a good entrance into the Deep Roads."

"Wouldn't any entrance work? Unless its guarded by a dragon. That would be bad." Hawke went with her usual sarcastic response.

"We do need a Dragon's Fang," Carver inserted.

"I think Sol will want that before we go into the Deep Roads, Carver." I responded to which he admitted I had a good point.

"Look, this would normally be a problem but I've put out feelers and found out that there is a merchant, in Lowtown, by the name of Lirene, who knows the whereabouts of a Fereldan Grey Warden known as the Healer." Varric snorted at that. Obviously he didn't think much of Ander's nickname. I don't really think it was a nickname so much as a description of the guy.

"So we talk to this Lirene and hopefully she'll be willing to divulge this Healer's location?" Hawke asked to which Varric nodded.

"That's the idea."

"Even still if you take everything we need to do in the city it'll most likely be another day or two before we can leave the city." I put in and Aveline didn't look happy about that.

"We can't leave those would be bandits out in the country for that long without dealing with them."

"Then get some other guards to do it," I responded. "I don't know about anybody else but I haven't received any pay from the Viscount to deal with bandits and the like."

"It's every citizens job to aid in whatever way they can," Aveline directed the full power of her glaze at me. "It's your duty." To this I began laughing. She really believed this crap she spewed.

"The only duty I have are to myself and those I care about. Kirkwall hasn't done a damn thing to gain my loyalty or demand my aid. The fact that you think Kirkwall has any right to demand anything from us is just insulting. In fact, nobody has the right to demand anything from me. To say otherwise, is as good as saying you support slavery because that's what you're doing. You are trying to make me a slave to your morals and ideologies. I am NOT you." I ended heatedly.

Every eye was on me as I finished my little rant. Hawke gave my hand a small squeeze beneath the table and when I looked at her she had a grateful look in her eyes. She didn't like Aveline demanding anything of us either. Carver and Bethany simply took things in stride. At this point, they were more than used to Aveline and me butting heads. It didn't mean we didn't care about each other. I feel I really need to get this point across. We were family at this point and we argued a lot because of how different we were. That doesn't mean I hated Aveline or anything like that. I actually greatly respected and cared for Aveline. I simply disliked her attempts to make Hawke, the others and myself into her little disciples. We were not city guards. We were regular but skilled people just trying to get by. We really didn't need to be dragged into the city's every problem.

This was all new to Varric though and he stood up to make sure we didn't go at each other physically. I'm not stupid. Aveline would break me if she ever decided to or if I forced her to. Aveline looked amused at Varric getting to his feet.

"I'm not going to hurt him, Varric. We're family, as different as we may be. You'll get used to this. It is usually a weekly occurrence when I say something that sets him off. And as much as I hate to admit it, he's right. I do try to push my morals onto him because I know he can be better than he is."

"And I keep telling you that I will never join the city guard. Apostate, remember?" I said with a friendly smile on my face. As I said, we do this all the time and we are quick to get over it. We are both very opinionated people and it is often vocalized loudly.

"You know, I keep forgetting that part. Maybe it's because you use that sword. What's it called again? Wind Burn?" She joked.

"Frost Bite," I growled out. "If you want, we could test it on you."

Aveline frowned at this and everybody started laughing at her expense. It was good to not be the one laughed at this time. It certainly beat my earlier embarrassment but I think the payoff was more than worth it. Varric decided to get things somewhat on track.

"So how do you want to play this, Hawke?"

Hawke had to think this one over. Undoubtedly we had a lot to do in the city tonight. It might be best to wait a couple days at least before we headed out into the country. This is why Hawke was the leader she could easily handle the logistics of a problem and figure out roughly how long something was going to take. I could see her figuring these things out. I figured we could tackle some of the stuff tonight but probably not all of it. Hawke confirmed my thoughts on this.

"We'll deal with this Warden and Athenril's job tonight. We may even be able to deal with some of the Flint Company mercenaries since a group of them have been spotted at the docks during the night. Anso will have to wait until tomorrow night and then the following morning we can head out to the country. Aveline, I know you want to take care of the bandits soon but we are only delaying a day at most. We need supplies that will take time to gather. At best we would be going tomorrow but there is too much to do here now to justify running out into the country."

Despite her obvious wish to argue the point, Aveline conceded with a nod. Varric, Bethany and Carver were all onboard with Hawke's plan and she knew I supported her no matter what she decided. Hawke got to her feet and pulled me up with her.

"Now, we have a couple hours before we need to get anything done so we are going home, by ourselves, to talk with mother and I'm sure Aveline has things she needs to take care of. We'll meet back here in a couple hours."

Hawke led me out of Varric's room, down the stairs and out of the Hanged Man. We barely stepped through the door before Hawke pushed me back against the wall. My hands instinctively went to the small of her back as our lips met in another kiss. This one was much shorter than the others and when she pulled away she had a look I wasn't used to seeing on Hawke's face. Gone was the confident woman I was used to seeing. Here and now Hawke was like any other woman with real hopes and dreams ... and fears. She was vulnerable like I had never seen her before and I began running my hand up and down her back.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to kiss you. But I was never sure how you really felt. I thought you liked Bethany. I never realized that you felt the same way I did. I was ... and you were ..." Hawke was rambling and fidgeting in her nervousness. I needed to calm her down and look at me. I brought my hand up to her face and brushed her cheek with my thumb while forcing her to look in my eyes. I looked into the bright blue eyes and was getting lost in them. I could see the need in those eyes.

"Hawke ... Marian, I didn't even realize how I truly felt until very recently. Bethany was nothing more than a crush. As beautiful and sweet as she is, she is not who I love. She is not the one I would face a horde of darkspawn for. Bethany is a great girl and will one day find somebody who makes her very happy but it won't be me. You have been there for me through everything over the past year. Every time I missed home or had doubts of any kind you were there. Through it all you've been there at my side and for so long I didn't realize what it meant. I didn't realize this beautiful, amazing woman who I admired more than anybody else in this world or my old could feel as you do. I didn't think I was worthy of your love and so I ignored the feelings I had for you. I was stupid and ... you're my best friend ... and I love you, Marian Hawke." I finished with conviction.

Hawke's nervousness had slowly transformed into a smile that lit up her face with each word I said. Her eyes practically shined and a blush tinted her cheeks a lovely pink.

"I guess we both chose to ignore our feelings. I should have told you how I felt sooner but I was afraid. I was afraid I would drive you away and ... I love you, Sean." She finished with just as much conviction as I had in my declaration.

I held her close and kissed her forehead.

"So now what?" I asked.

"Now, we really should go see mother. She will want to know she was right."

"Wait, she told you?"

"Yes. She said that you weren't even aware of your own feelings let alone mine. She did say that when you found out it would be quite the revelation for you."

"It was, it is. I'm still kind of shocked by it all to be honest. I like to think I'm a smart guy but missing the obvious the way I did is more than a little embarrassing."

"I know the feeling. Come on, let's go see mother so she can fuss over the two of us."

I laughed at this and took her hand. We began walking to the Hawke/Amell household and all I could think is how much I hoped that Gamlen wasn't there. I really didn't care if he ever found out. Leandra, on the other hand, would be absolutely smug. Happy but smug nonetheless. As for myself, I had my reason ... my reason for everything. Whatever had brought me here, whether it was some twist of fate or some being playing with things he or she shouldn't have, I was suddenly grateful. If I wasn't here I would never have met Hawke and I know my life would be empty without her in it. So as far as I was concerned I was in this for life. Here's hoping everything works out.

* * *

**A/N: First, this story has officially become a FemHawke/OC story as many of you have guessed. Second, you'll notice I changed a few things with the quests. I didn't stick to when Bioware said you could get them. In a game it works to just bounce around wherever and whenever you want but in reality travel times and such need to be considered. So instead, I decided to open several of them up earlier then they would appear in the game. Also over the next few chapters expect the rest of Hawke's misfits to appear. **

**Finally I'd like to thank everybody for reviewing and the positive feedback so far. Hopefully, I continue to deliver for all of you loyal readers.**


	8. Chapter 8: A Healer's Hubris

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Dragon Age, Sean and Caress are my own.**

* * *

Hawke and I took Leandra's smugness about our relationship in stride. Mother's always know, they say. In this case that was simply the truth. Leandra had known about my feelings for Hawke long before I realized the depths they went. Thankfully, Gamlen was not there when we arrived so we didn't have to deal with his mouth. Leandra spent most of the time telling stories about Marian growing up. Like all parents, Leandra seemed to enjoy embarrassing her children. It was refreshing to find that Hawke wasn't always so smooth and confident. She had to work hard to be as skilled as she was. It made me feel better about my situation. I was the least skilled but also the most versatile member of our group at this point. That is one of the benefits of being an arcane warrior.

We talked for a little over an hour before Leandra sent Hawke back to the Hanged Man to get Carver and Bethany for dinner. I got up to go with Hawke but apparently Leandra wanted me alone. If this was Marian's father I'd be sweating bullets but this was much worse. Any guy can tell you that the mother is far scarier. There is a reason the dad threatens new boyfriends and not the mother. Women are much more inventive when it comes to threats. Hawke gave me a quick kiss in goodbye and a sympathetic look before she walked out the door. I watched her leave, wishing the whole time that I could go with her.

I stood looking at the door for about minute before I finally squared my shoulders and turned to face Leandra. Her expression wasn't what I expected. There was no threat on her face. It looked more like thoughtfulness. That could either be really good or really, really bad. I couldn't make up my mind on which it was going to be. Leandra motioned to a chair.

"Oh, do sit down. I'm not going to bite you."

"Right, sitting down now," I was nervous in my response. Who was I kidding? I was nervous, period.

Leandra smiled reassuringly and patted me on the shoulder.

"This isn't an interrogation, Sean. It's not as if you are some strange boy who I'm being introduced to for the first time. You did save my life, remember?"

"Yeah. Saving your life doesn't necessarily mean that you think I'm good enough for one of your children."

Leandra actually laughed at this. I guess I showed her some of that intelligence that had apparently been missing for the last year.

"Oh, but you are. If this was Bethany I would put my foot down. The two of you simply are not what the other needs."

"But me and Marian?" I asked.

"Marian has always been the one child I have never had to worry about. With Bethany and Carver I've seen them struggling with who they are. They both are looking for their place in life. Marian has never had that problem. From the moment they were born she swore to protect and look after Bethany and Carver. For a long time, I did worry that Marian wouldn't find love of her own because of her self-sacrificing nature. She is so like Malcolm in that way," Leandra said with a wistful sigh before continuing. "Yet always they did it with a sense of humor. In so many ways Marian reminds me of Malcolm. I always knew the type of person she needed. She needed a man who was much like me, Who would support her in her every venture and yet at the same time offer a counter point. Since the moment we met you that's exactly what you have done. You've supported her and taken some of the burden off her shoulders. I always knew that you would come around in the end and that the two of you would end up together."

Okay, that explained some of it but there was still one question that I had to ask.

"How did you know? Even I didn't realize what I felt until recently." Leandra smirked at this.

"You mean to say you didn't realize until today." My jaw dropped almost to the floor. Leandra continued on with a soft chuckle. "I knew you wouldn't wait once you realized how you felt. Marian's always been very popular and would attract much attention. You wouldn't want to miss your chance. Not that you would have as she was waiting for you. She saw something in you right away. It's why she asked you to protect me in our flight from Lothering. She knew you wouldn't let her or me down. As for how I knew, call it mother's intuition. You looked at her differently right from the beginning. When you looked at Bethany there was admiration for her beauty in your eyes but when you looked at Marian it was more than that. You looked at her like you would follow her into the Fade to protect her. That's not a look one forgets."

I sat in thought at her answer. I never realized I had such a poor poker face. It's probably how Hawke knew I wasn't being entirely truthful when I warned her about that Ogre. I've always been fairly emotional so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I wear those emotions on my face.

"In any event, I suspect that the others will return any minute now. Marian won't want to be away from you for long, I suspect."

Leandra was right of course. The Hanged Man was only a couple of minutes walk away from Gamlen's hovel. Leandra, with my help, had the table set when Hawke, Bethany and Carver walked in. Hawke sat next to me as we enjoyed our dinner. Carver and Bethany made several comments but it was all in good fun. I shared a smile with Hawke as we shared this small moment with family before the fun truly began.

* * *

The sun was setting as we made our way down to Darktown. Varric joined the Hawkes and myself while Aveline had a patrol of her own and wasn't available to come on our fun. Lirene had made a bit of a fuss at first with our questions but revealed her knowledge when we explained that we meant the Healer no harm.

We made it all of five steps into Darktown when two things happened. First, the most god-awful smell hit us and the second ... Carta dwarves intent on killing us. Stupid, lyrium-addled dwarves. Hawke and Carver charged ahead while I stayed back, to protect Bethany and Varric, since Aveline wasn't with us.

Have I ever mentioned how scary Hawke and Carver are when they fight? Yes, good. They are a two-person wrecking crew! Carver was swinging his great sword and practically cutting through armor like butter while Hawke flitted in and out, stabbing any caught unawares. Hawke kicked a dwarf in the stones and I flinched in sympathy. Hawke fought dirty but I was a firm believer that in a fight for your life there are no rules.

Bethany was having limited success with her spells what with dwarves being resistant to magic. Varric was firing off Bianca with great success having picked off two even before Hawke and Carver had engaged. I kept my eyes open. I was the protection for our support while the heavies did the damage.

A flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye had me spinning. I barely got Frost Bite up in time to deflect the blow. This was one of those damn assassins that the Carta loved to use. The dwarf had a smug look on his face that told me all I needed to know. I spun around and punched the second would-be assassin in the face with a sickening crunch. The assassin dropped to the ground and I dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the first assassin. I rolled to my knees and twisted around with Frost Bite out in a low arch aiming for the torso. The dwarf evaded the blow but was so concentrated on me that he missed Hawke coming up behind him. Hawke finished the assassin off with a dagger right through the throat. I caught the second assassin just as he was getting to his feet with the follow through. The dwarf grunted as he stumbled and I finished him off by ramming my sword through his gut. I twisted my blade before pulling it out. The dwarf dropped to the ground and slowly bled out.

Hawke helped me to my feet and we shared a small smile. Carver groaned at this.

"That's going to get annoying real fast." He muttered.

"If you have a problem with it then look away." I responded.

"Let's just get to this healer so we can get those maps. The sooner we are done this the better."

I couldn't argue with that logic and Hawke took the lead again. We managed to walk through most of Darktown before we found the lantern that Lirene told us to look out for. It was still lit and so we pushed our way through the doors.

I have to say that Anders made one hell of a first impression. He was healing a boy, who probably should have been dead. Disease had clearly ravaged the little guy and his parents looked worried beyond rational thought. Perhaps, that is why the sought the aid of an apostate. In those few minutes, it took for Anders to heal the boy, I could see why the Wardens wanted him. Anders was an amazing healer and a great guy. Justice, I could live without. Personally, I never was a fan of Justice in Awakening, but Anders was one of my favored party members. Of course, I buffed up his offensive abilities. I never could stand a mage that just healed and nothing else. I like maximum carnage from my mages.

Before I knew it Anders was finished and it looked like he needed a moment. I was wrong. Of course, I should have known that wasn't the case but I was caught up in my own thoughts. Even still, I was caught off guard when he spun with his staff raised.

"I have made this place a sanctum of healing and salvation. Why do you threatened it?"

Hawke then proceeded to find all about Anders, Ser-Pounce-A-Lot and the Wardens. Anders wanted nothing to do with the Deep Roads. Can't really say I blame him there. The Deep Roads weren't exactly a great vacation spot or anything. Of course, Anders said he was willing to trade his help for ours. Carver wasn't going to like this.

"That depends. I don't do anything involving children or animals." Hawke was always sarcastic with people when she first meets them. It's her defense mechanism, I suppose. She's not nearly as sarcastic to those she's friends with.

Anders then explained about his friend Karl Theckla, who he came to Kirkwall to free from the Gallows. As a fellow mage I can understand that. I certainly wouldn't want to be locked up for the rest of my life. Hawke voiced her support of mages and that locking mages up wasn't the way to prevent the rise of another imperium. Thinking about it Thedas is full of such extremes. The Tevinter Imperium fully endorses blood magic and slavery while on the other end the Chantry and it's belief that all mages should be locked up for their potential. I really hate that word. Potential is unrealized, undeveloped and utterly useless. Why do people place so much emphasis on what somebody could do here?

Within the hour we were standing outside the Chantry where Karl was waiting ... along with a whole platoon of Templars. Yeah, those bastards were dead. On that front, I think Carver's become less anti-mage lately. Maybe that has to do with my influence. Being good friends with a mage had to have change his outlook.

Anyways, we had to fight our way to the Chantry of course. This year it was Guardsmen Pretenders which made it a bit difficult to strike preemptively. In any event, we made it into the chantry and went up the stairs to where Karl waited. He had his back turned to us. All our senses where on high alert. There was definitely something wrong with this. Forget about my foreknowledge, I felt that something bad was about to happen.

I was not disappointed when Karl began speaking in a monotone voice before turning around to face us. Templars suddenly began closing in on us. Do you want to know how to make a mage unleash the full force of his power? Send Templars in to back them into a corner. Anders went full on Justice-mode while Bethany and I unleashed hell. She began raining fire down on their heads while I summoned a power I hadn't used before.

I pointed Frost Bite at the Templars and my power shot out of me. The Templars were suddenly engulfed in a Blizzard. Bethany shot me a look before switching to spirit spells. Hawke and Carver waited for my Blizzard to dissipate before they attacked. I wasn't staying back this time. For all intents and purposes Templars were my mortal enemies and they needed to die.

I attacked with a ruthlessness that I didn't know I possessed. I found myself fighting back-to-back with Hawke. She let out a small chuckle at seeing me truly let go. Frost Bite was working overtime at this point as I was sending out Cones of Cold and Winter's Grasp left and right. That's not to say that the Templars didn't try to Smite me. The fact was that they did but I refused to let it effect me. My will was strong and for the first time I was fighting as a true arcane warrior. There was no tentativeness on my part. My magic was strong and my swordplay was at a level I hadn't realized I had achieved. I was a force to be reckoned with in this battle.

The battle was over much quicker than it should have been. If it weren't for Anders, Bethany and myself unleashing ourselves to our fullest it would have taken a great deal more time.

I was lost in some kind of battle trance and was only vaguely aware of the conversation behind me. I was looking at the Templars wishing they would rise again so that I could kill them again. Those thoughts more than anything scared me out of my battle trance. I wasn't a violent person. I never had been. I was a bit hot-headed but I always tried to avoid physical fights of any kind. Not because I was afraid of being hurt but because I was afraid of hurting somebody else. The fact that I enjoyed killing these men and women, I realized with a twist in my gut, who only thought they were doing what they had to made me more than a little sick.

"Sean?" Hawke asked in a soft voice. It was obvious she had seen the guilt on my face. I looked up into her eyes as I voiced what bothered me.

"I enjoyed killing them. I wanted them dead. I ... I've never really killed anybody ... not like that."

Hawke put her hand on my face and wiped some of the blood off my face.

"You're not a bad person, Sean. They would have killed you or worse."

"I know that but it shouldn't be something I enjoy. It shouldn't be something I want. Hawke, if any of them tried to run away I would have slaughtered them."

"You were caught up in the moment. I know you. Maybe it has to do with you being an arcane warrior. You did pull out some magic I've never seen you use before."

That was another thing to be worried about. I didn't actually know how to do a Blizzard spell it wasn't something Caress or Bethany taught me.

"I ... I don't know how I did that. It's not something I knew how to do before. It scares me. I don't know where it came from. I just instinctively knew how to do it."

"I'm here for you. We'll get through this, together. This is just another challenge that we'll have to face just like all the other ones before." That made me feel a bit better and I offered her a smile.

"You're right. We can deal with this. Just like everything else. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"It's alright. I was more worried about how worried you were than any magic you may have used. The Templars are your natural enemy as a mage. I would have been much more worried if you froze up. Come on. The others are waiting."

Thankfully, they had given us privacy for my little freak out. I would certainly have a lot to take to Caress about in the Fade when I finally went to sleep. We met the others outside the Chantry and made our way to the Docks. Anders was apparently okay with helping us take care of our job for Athenril before going back to Darktown.

The trip took the better part of an hour as we were attacked by more thugs on our way to the Docks. Where the hell are the guards and why aren't they dealing with this? Jeven's still Captain though so I can't exactly blame this on Aveline. It's a bummer, too. I was already looking forward to our next argument.

We arrived at the Docks to find the boy, Pryce running from the Coterie. We barely had time to pull our weapons free before they were upon us. There was a good dozen of them and sure to be more waiting in the wings. I didn't really have the option of staying back this time as Hawke and Carver needed all the help they could get. Over the last year I had had plenty of dealings with the Coterie and none of them were very pleasant. Suffice it to say that we had no love lost with this band of thugs.

The biggest difference between day and night in Kirkwall is that mages need to be very careful during the day while at night they can let loose. Apparently, all forms of authority had better things to do then keep the streets safe at night and so Bethany, Anders and myself were truly free at night. The Coterie didn't know what hit them as I was again able to unleash a Blizzard at their back ranks, where it wouldn't cause collateral damage. Bethany added an Inferno to the mix and Anders surprisingly conjured an Inferno. I didn't even realize he could do that. I didn't have much chance to think about it as all hell broke loose. I had completely forgot about what would happen when those spells were combined together.

Carver and Hawke smartly jumped back as the powerful mixture sent the Coterie reeling. For a moment, everybody stood back and watch the amazing show. Bethany, Anders and myself all shared a look that clearly said we needed to discuss this later. It took several minutes before the Perfect Storm ran its course. Hawke, Carver and Varric dispatched of the Coterie members who actually managed to survive that particular brand of hell. Hawke, Carver and Varric went to talk to Pryce while I stayed back with the other mages.

"What was that?" Bethany asked in some confusion. She probably never had much of a chance to mix spells in such a way with only her father with her. Anders answered her.

"That was something I had only ever read about. It's called the Perfect Storm but it is extremely volatile. It is just as likely to hurt your friends and allies as it is to deal with enemies. In the Circle, such powerful spell combinations were whispered about, away from Templar eyes and ears, but we rarely had a chance to practice such techniques. The Templars preferred to keep their mages easy prey."

I could only nod in agreement at that. There was something that bugged me though.

"If you had an idea what would happen why did you add the Inferno to the mix? I thought with you primarily being a Healer you wouldn't use such mana-draining spells," I added.

"I was curious to see if it would work. I thought that where you placed the Blizzard was far enough back from the main fighting to be a good little test. I was right but in the future we should be careful of using such spells in combination. Undoubtedly, the Templars could see our little show from the Gallows. As far as the Inferno goes, it was something I picked up in my time with the Wardens. A spell like that kills quickly which can be vital when facing the horde."

I couldn't argue with that. Whenever I played as a mage I was always a damager. I hated sitting back and just keeping my team alive. That's what injury kits where for. Anders looked curiously at my sword then.

"I call her Frost Bite. Much like a stave she enhances my ability with frost damage but doesn't leave me defenseless when dealing with Templars who decide to Smite me."

"May I see her?" Anders asked then. I shrugged my shoulders and handed Frost Bite over to him. Anders glowed blue as he tapped into his affinity to the Fade. Frost Bite quivered slightly and Anders looked impressed. He handed Frost Bite back to me.

"That sword is of the finest make yet oddly enough is only meant to be wielded by a certain kind of mage. If Bethany or I tried to use it we wouldn't be using it to its full ability. I get the sense that you do, however."

"I'm an Arcane Warrior. The knowledge I have was actually a Dalish invention. I use my magic to enhance my fighting abilities. It does drain my mana though so when I use my magic in the normal fashion I tend to stick to cold spells. Frost Bite helps in those situations. The sword has a mind of its own too. It really doesn't like Fire spells of any kind. That places a real drain on my mana which is why I stay away from. Lightning and Spirit spells though are fine."

Anders hummed in thought. Bethany added her opinion then.

"He's come a long way, too. He's only been an Arcane Warrior for little over a year. I've taught him what I could but at this point he's learned about all I can teach him. Perhaps, you would be willing ..."

"Of course. I'll help in whatever way I can." Anders' looked at me then. "Do you have any healing ability?" I shrugged my shoulders in response.

"Minimal. I do however have knowledge that would greatly aid you." Anders scoffed at this to which Bethany shook her head at him.

"Trust me when I say that he is telling you the truth. His circumstances are unique but his knowledge will help you save a great many lives." That piqued Anders interest.

"What unique circumstances would those be?"

"I hope you'll understand when I say that I can't tell you. Not yet anyways. There is only a handful of people who know about me and I'd like to keep that number from growing too much. Give it time and I'll probably tell you. I just need to know I can trust you first."

Anders looked ready to argue the point but I held up my hand to stall him.

"Would you tell a random stranger you are a mage without knowing anything about them? Simply give it time. If you stick around I can pretty much guarantee that I will tell you all about my past but for now it remains a secret. The only people who know about me escaped Lothering and the Blight with me. The earned my trust. You have not." I finished firmly.

Anders nodded in understanding. Hawke had dealt with Pryce and let him take the goods. That didn't really surprise. Hawke gave me a questioning look to which I motioned that I would tell her later.

"Alright, after that show the Templars will probably be arriving soon so we need to make this quick. Somewhere around here are a group of Flint Company Mercenaries. We deal with them and then we can head home for the night."

That seemed to brighten everybody up. The truth is that fighting is very tiring and we were all just about worn out. Well everybody except for Hawke and Carver who seemed to have an infinite reserve of stamina. I think their time spent at Ostagar helped with that.

We set off around the docks and it took only about five minutes or so before we found the Flint Company. It was only a single unit of about 6 men. They really had no chance against us. Hawke and Carver probably could have handled them. Bethany unleashed a fireball at them while Varric fired off a few salvos from Bianca. I ran forward with Hawke and Carver. My magic was pretty much spent for the night so I had to go about this the old-fashioned way. I pulled a small dagger from its sheath strapped at my knee. I'd be doing this one rogue-style. I engaged a warrior with a shield and a vicious looking axe. We met in a clash and he had my dagger pushed to one-side with his shield while my sword an his axe were pushed the other way. We were both vulnerable but the mercenary wasn't wearing a helmet so I head-butted him.

Let it be known that I have a very hard head. He didn't know that though and he stumbled back to one knee in a daze. I ran him through with Frost Bite and twisted before pulling her free. I looked around for somebody else to engage but Flint Company was decimated. Our side had barely broken a sweat.

"Well, this must have been a small group. I expect we will find more of a challenge when we leave Kirkwall." Hawke said then as she took in our appearances. Everybody was fine and she continued.

"Alright, let's head down to Anders' clinic and then we'll call it a night."

Twenty minutes later we found ourselves in Anders' clinic. It was roughly midnight at this point. Anders put his stave away while the rest of us stood around. Hawke had to find out how much she could trust Anders going forward. There was a reason why she dragged him down to the docks with us. She wanted to see if he would be somebody handy to have around. The truth is that he was. He was more capable offensively then I thought and his healing ability clearly outstripped Bethany's and I wasn't even worth mentioning in the conversation. I could heal small cuts but not much else. Anders handed his map of the Deep Roads over to Hawke, who pocketed them.

"So I think now it's time you told us about that blue glowing thing." Hawke said then.

Anders went on to explain all about Justice and how he merged with him. None of us where really comfortable with this. I mean, I am friends with Caress but I don't know if I'd want her living inside me not that she has any wish to do so. When nobody seemed to like the idea he pointed at me. Ah, crap.

"You don't seem to mind your friend's own passenger." OH HELL NO!

"You really want to compare me to you? Fine. Let's talk about the differences between us. I am friends with a Spirit that has protected me from demons who would seek to do exactly what you let another do. I am still myself. I made no deal."

"You consort with a desire demon!" Anders said then with venom as he glowed blue.

"And you let a demon of vengeance own you!"

Everybody was looking back and forth between the two of us.

"I AM NO DEMON! Demons are evil! They corrupt all they touch!"

"Chantry dogma! Caress unlike you, Justice has no wish to possess me! So who is really the demon in this case, huh?"

"You're still consorting with demons."

"And you are a god damned hypocrite!" I spat at him.

Hawke decided it was time to step between us. She looked at me however with a concerned look on her face.

"Caress is a Desire Demon, Sean?" She asked then to which I sighed. My shoulders slumped as I began telling her the full story. Anders looked confused as I went back over things I had said before. He clearly didn't know whether to believe me or not.

"Look, I know better than to trust demons, or any spirits for that matter, on what they say. Instead, look at her actions. If she wanted to possess me she could have done it. I was putty in her hands all because I wasn't ready for what I was to face. She helped me. She didn't ask for anything in return and in the end she has gained my trust over time. You're worried that I'll be possessed but there isn't anything a demon or spirit that can offer me that would make me accept. I have everything right here. Home is here now. With you." I then shot Anders a glare. "The only thing Caress has ever asked me for is my friendship. Can you say the same about Justice?"

"Okay, I trust you." Hawke said then. I offered her a small smile.

Hawke then turned back around to Anders. She didn't look very happy with him.

"Don't think I approve of you deflecting the question either. You took a spirit into yourself. Sean has done nothing of the sort."

"Yet," Anders sneered back. Arrogant fool. He can't even see what he's becoming.

"Pot meets kettle. You know, it's really sad that you are so quick to point out the flaws in others but refuse to look in the mirror. If you really want to judge me on things I haven't done then by all means go ahead. You're the one who is an abomination. For all your self-righteous indignation you're nothing more than a hypocrite. Do as I say not as I do, right Anders?"

Anders huffed at this but finally lost his blue glow. Apparently, Justice decided we could continue this later. Anders then continued his tale and Hawke was much more sympathetic now. We had all saw Justice co-opting control from Anders and it was clear that while he tried to help a friend his friend had screwed him in the end. Whether it really was Anders' anger that changed Justice or it may simply have been his time spent in the waking world. Anders was the one suffering. I always liked Anders in Awakening and I had looked forward to seeing him again but his character had been so utterly changed by Justice that I he went from one of my favorites to one of my least. What can I say? I always liked the fun characters.

In any event, Hawke asked if he could control or get rid of Justice, which would make things so much easier and better later on, but we all knew that wasn't really an option. The conversation went on for several more minutes with Anders promising to be around if we needed him. He also agreed to join us when we headed out of Kirkwall as he needed some herbs himself. We were all set to leave when my blood ran cold.

"I got a bit weighty on you there. Sorry for putting that on you." Anders said then. Really, I'm right here! He really couldn't have been that blind not to see how close Hawke and I are. Most not fly off into a jealous rage and kill the idiot, I chanted to myself in my head.

"You'd be surprised how people just tell me their darkest secrets. I must look trustworthy," Hawke responded.

"You look something ... True, proud ... like even if you don't agree with me you'll be honest. I just ... I hope I didn't seem to selfish when I told you about Justice. I didn't know what would happen. I figured a willing host, a friend, it had to be better than playing the demon and haunting some corpse."

"You couldn't have known what would happen," Hawke responded. At least she wasn't flirting with him. That would send me over the deep end.

"Kind, wise and beautiful. You must have made a deal with some demons yourself. I'm sorry, I shouldn't presume. I just ... we've hardly met and I feel like I know you. Am I making you uncomfortable."

I was visibly shaking in my anger. Carver was sending the full power of his glare at Anders, Varric looked ready to laugh right then and there and Bethany was sending a sympathetic look my way. Must not kill the idiot! I repeated over and over.

"Not at all," Hawke replied sarcastically before she could continue to explain Anders began talking again much to my displeasure.

"No, I shouldn't do this. I don't want to hurt you." Instead of letting Hawke answer he continued on anyways. "You saw what I did in the Chantry. That's who I am. A year ago, maybe we could have had something, but I'm not that man any more. I'll break your heart and that might kill me as surely as the Templars."

"ARROGANT SON OF A BITCH!" I yelled out in my anger. Anders finally seemed to realize he wasn't alone with Hawke. Anders could clearly see that I wanted to kill him. Only Carver and Varric holding me back kept me from the bastard.

"And that is my very angry boyfriend," Hawke added cheerfully. Anders visibly paled at this. He really had no idea that his monologue was seriously stepping on some toes. Carver and Varric pulled me out of the clinic but I could still hear Hawke and Anders from just outside the door.

"I'm sorry," Anders stammered out. " I had no idea."

"Well now, could it be that you had no idea because you didn't even let me finish a sentence? And what exactly makes you think that I would fall in love with you hours after meeting you? That is pride in its worst form." Anders was shocked into silence.

"Now, before things get even further out of hand we are going to leave. If you still want to go with us when he head out of Kirkwall then meet us at the Hanged Man in the morning the day after tomorrow. If you're not there ... well I can't say that everybody will be disappointed."

With that Hawke turned from Anders and walked out of the clinic and up to me. I was still glaring at the mage from just outside the door. How dare he? Who the hell does he think he is, anyways? I should take Frost Bite and ram into down his throat!

A calloused but soft hand touched the side of my face. I wasn't looking at Anders anymore but into Hawke's eyes.

"Sean, it's fine. Just you and me. That's all that matters." Hawke was drawing me back from my anger with nothing more than a few words. She was right. Anders wasn't any form of competition. The man was a train wreck waiting to happen. At least, even he seemed to know that. I took deep breaths to further calm myself and pulled Hawke to me in a hug. I kissed her forehead.

"Thanks and I'm sorry about that. His arrogance ..."

"Hush. Don't worry about, Anders. He is not important. Carver, why don't you and Bethany head home? I'm going to take a walk with Sean."

Carver nodded in agreement and led Bethany out of Darktown with Varric following. We watched them go before Hawke kissed me. I forgot all about Anders and his arrogance and it was just me and Hawke. Several minutes passed before we needed air and we both pulled back reluctantly. Hawke took my right hand and pulled me after her.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"For a walk ... and then back to your place." I stopped in my tracks pulling Hawke short. She looked back at me with a smirk on her face. "And here I thought you'd be in a hurry."

I shook the cobwebs out of my head and looked back at Hawke who was now smiling seductively.

"You tease," I responded and my smirk matched hers.

"Who said I'm teasing," she responded seductively.

The man in me took over at that point and I was the one pulling Hawke along now. We made it out of Darktown and to my place in record time. Hawke certainly had a way of making me forget all about Anders, I'll give her that. It was a productive night in Kirkwall and we had another to go before we made it to the country. That didn't stop us from enjoying the night together.

* * *

**A/N: For the most part I don't like rehashing conversations from in game but I made a bit of exception this time as it was important. Anders' flirting with Hawke was inevitable and Sean needed to be there to face that. Anders and Sean's relationship will be an interesting one. Anders character is very polarizing in DA2. People love him or they hate him it seems like. I like Anders but hate Justice. **

**Many readers have wondered what Anders and Merrill's response is going to be to Sean's dealings with Caress and you've got your answer with Anders. That's really just who he is. It stays true to his nature and will make for some interesting times ahead. **


	9. Chapter 9: Storming The Estate

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Dragon Age and all its characters, Sean and Caress are mine  
*****Trigger Warning: Rape briefly mentioned in this chapter. It is not described so don't worry if this offends you. I simply feel it is necessary to warn people that it is there.**

* * *

Hawke spent the night at my place after our little adventure with Anders. We didn't rush into things though. We simply slept curled up with each other. It was probably the best sleep I had since I was transplanted in Thedas. Caress was waiting for me in the Fade with an amused smile on her face.

"What's up?" I asked with some suspicion. That smile on a woman could be dangerous and a Desire Demon was no different.

"Your thoughts give you away, my friend. You and the Hawke have come together."

"I didn't realize I was thinking about it." I said in confusion.

"Not consciously. She makes you happy and when you're with her your spirit is brighter."

Okay, that didn't really explain anything and she really confused me with that whole 'spirit is brighter' comment.

"Umm... I don't understand."

"It is not your physical shell I see but your spirit. All beings of the Fade see the spirit of people and not their real bodies. What we see is more the embodiment of who and what you really are."

That actually made some sense in a weird sort of way. I was never going to understand completely how the Fade worked but Caress did her best to teach me. I found a comfortable place and settled in for the night ahead of me.

"So, I have to ask how did Justice sense your presence? I don't know how it works but I certainly didn't expect Justice to know of our connection."

"I'm afraid that is my fault. When I transferred knowledge directly to you it left a trace of my essence behind. That is what Justice was able to sense. He could basically smell the demonic presence on you."

I hummed in thought. It certainly brought up some interesting thoughts. Abominations could find each other. That explained why when you found one there always seemed to be more around. That actually brought up another thought. Caress wasn't a true demon anymore. She was a spirit to me but Justice had clearly become a spirit of Vengeance.

"So the act of joining with a human changes the spirit, doesn't it? You were more like your brethren before you met Illeya and Justice acts more like what you'd expect out of a demon since he joined with Anders." Caress nodded sadly.

"I'm afraid that Justice is no longer what he once was. Justice and Vengeance are two-sides of the same coin and it seems that joining with Anders has turned him into a vessel of vengeance. You will need to watch him to make sure that no innocents are harmed."

That's kind of what I was afraid of. I think it's safe to say that Justice will cross that line and then some when he blows up the Chantry. I had to find some way to stop that. Really what I needed to do was find someway to separate Anders and Justice. Anders wasn't a bad guy and other than hitting on Hawke, he was actually a pretty nice guy. He was losing himself though. Justice or Vengeance was changing him from the fun-loving guy who we all had seen in Awakening. I needed to help him.

"Is there some way to separate Anders and Justice? I remember that the Wardens could save Connor from the Desire Demon. Surely, there must be something we can do."

"I'm afraid that their situations are completely different. Anders and Justice chose to fuse together much like Illeya and I had done. To the best of my knowledge, the only way to separate a man and a spirit when they have fused is death. I am sorry."

"But there still could be a way. Just because we don't know of one doesn't mean we should give up on it. There is still time. We have several years to find a way and I don't intend to waste it."

"Be careful, my young friend. Do not become so wrapped up in improbable endeavors that you forget what is truly important." I smiled at this. I knew exactly what and more importantly who Caress was talking about.

"Hawke. She is what's important. Don't worry, Caress. I won't let myself be consumed by this. I promised myself when this started that I would be there for Hawke and I fully intend on keeping that promise. I have even more incentive now than I did back then."

"I recall a time when you would have said getting home was the most important thing," She said with a smirk.

"Things have changed. I have changed. For the better, I think."

"Good. You will need each other in the time to come. Continue to love and support her like I know you do."

"I will. I've done a lot of growing up over the last year and I've made a life here. A life I won't give up without a fight." I said then. Caress nodded at this as the Fade began to blur out.

"I will see you soon, my friend." Caress promised and the Fade blurred out.

* * *

Time had passed quickly while I was in the Fade. I was woken up by lips on my own. My arms went to the small of Hawke's back and I rubbed small circles with my fingers. Hawke broke the kiss with a sigh and I opened my eyes. I smiled up at Hawke as she leaned over me.

"I think I can get used to be woken up like that."

"Yes, I can certainly see the advantages of such an arrangement." She said with a smile of her own. I squeezed her hips affectionately.

"So what's on the agenda for the day?" I asked.

"Ready to leave bed so soon," She asked with exasperation.

"Not at all," I responded. "I just want to know how much time we have to kill."

Hawke's gaze went to my lone window, where sunlight was just starting to come through. She hummed in thought.

"Not much, I think. No doubt, mother would have been up at the crack of dawn making breakfast." I sighed at that.

"What is it with you early risers? Yesterday, I was rudely woken up by Carver and now we don't even have the chance to lay about before we have to go." I said in exasperation to which Hawke laughed. I wasn't going to call it giggling. Hawke doesn't giggle.

"We were farmers, Sean. Early mornings are all part of the life."

"That's what Carver said. I'm not a farmer though. In fact, I was miserable and a terrible worker the few times I worked on a farm."

"Nobody really likes working on a farm but it is something we had to do to survive."

I could only nod in agreement. It wasn't like I had any experience with having to farm just to survive. My old world was entirely different. Machinery did most of the work and all the workers were needed for was picking which was a very boring job. It was then that I started laughing. Where we really talking about farming while we laid in bed half-naked? Hawke gave me a questioning look.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Look at us. We are talking about farming ... now of all times."

Hawke looked down at me and my bare-chest and then down at herself. She was only wearing one of my tunics. Let me tell you, I don't think there is anything sexier than Hawke wearing nothing but one of my shirts. Hawke then started laughing herself and for the next several minutes it was all we could do. When Hawke finally got control of her laughter she rose to her feet. She held out her hands and pulled me to my feet. I gave her a quick kiss and then we went about getting ready for the day.

It didn't take long for us to finish getting dressed and we made our way to Gamlen's hovel. We chatted about the previous night and all that we had accomplished. We still had Anso on the docket for tonight but other than that the day was pretty much ours. We stepped into Gamlen's hovel to an argument in progress.

"My children have spent the last year in servitude! They should be nobility!"

I had forgotten about this little quest. It would be interesting to see how this would play out, with both Carver and Bethany still alive. Leandra was definitely happier than she had ever been in the game. Carver was different as well. He didn't really have much resentment and anger for Hawke. This was mostly due to my influence, I think. Being Carver's friend was actually easier than I ever would have suspected. Deep down he's a really good guy who's just trying to find his way in life.

Gamlen tried to weasel his way out of showing Leandra the will but Hawke would have none of that. It was quickly decided that the four of us, at least, would raid the Amell Estate by infiltrating from the sewers of Darktown. One thing I really found interesting about the entire conversation was that Leandra revealed that one of the Heroes of Fereldan was Solona Amell. From the rumors it seemed that there was more than one origin in effect. That made sense to me. It'd be extremely difficult for only two Wardens to end the Blight. Rumor had it that Solona was romantically linked to a Orlesian Bard. I certainly hoped Leliana actually stuck around instead of running off to work for the Divine.

After Gamlen left, to go blow more money at the Blooming Rose, we sat to eat breakfast. Leandra's earlier anger had disappeared and she was in full on mothering mode. She certainly seemed happy that Hawke had spent the night at my place. I think she thought more happened then actually did, which was actually disturbing thinking about it. Carver and Bethany were going all out in teasing the two of us. They also thought we did more than just sleep. Hawke was a pleasant pink from all the attention. I don't know if I could deal with this from my family so I really don't know how Hawke managed. Finally, Hawke had enough though.

"Nothing happened. We just slept. That's it. Drop it."

Of course this brought on even more teasing. Carver even questioned my manhood. Yeah, such a great friend is one, Carver Hawke. I showed him how much I thought of that comment with a single finger. It wasn't something common in Thedas but it was something I taught them to understand. Carver snorted and we went back to our food simply enjoying the familial atmosphere.

* * *

Hours later we found ourselves about to enter the Amell Estate. Varric and Aveline had both joined up with us. We didn't even stop by the Clinic to see if Anders' wanted to join us. I think Hawke knew that I'd probably punch him if I had to deal with him so soon.

After breakfast we had split up to gather supplies for our trip out of Kirkwall. It took roughly an hour to buy fresh fruits and vegetables as well as 4 rough canvas tents. I had to talk Hawke into the fourth. I explained it would be a good idea to have at least one spare, just in case. Right now we had 4 men and 3 women add in Fenris and Isabela and we'd need the extra tent. We'd simply have to plan watches out in advance so that there were no problems.

When we went to pick up Aveline from the barracks we also informed Athenril of what had transpired at the docks. Athenril didn't look particularly happy to see me or how close Hawke and I were. I really hope this didn't become a problem. Overall, I actually liked Athenril. She wasn't evil or anything but she was smart enough to see that she could make good money smuggling. She also did quite a bit of good in the Alienage, which was under her protection.

When we finally met up with Aveline she had a smirk on her face that didn't leave her face the entire time. We had met back up with Varric, Carver and Bethany at the Hanged Man and filled Aveline in on all that happened the night before. Aveline frowned at the mention that Anders was an apostate but she wisely kept her mouth shut. There would be no point to setting me off so early in the morning. In fact, it was a bad idea. I hated mornings and when people irritated me early it stuck all day. So after we caught Aveline up we had set out to where we were now.

I really couldn't stand the stench of Darktown. It was sewage mixed with sweat and rotting garbage. I made a mental note to spend as little time in Darktown as possible in the future. Hawke had produced the key and we followed her into the dank, dark hole. The secret entrance to the Estate was well hidden and Bethany had to produce a small flame before Hawke was able to find the door.

"Impressive. This could come in handy when we reclaim the Estate."

"Why do we even care about the Estate? It's not like our Grandparents even cared that we existed." I nudged him with my elbow and gave him a cheeky grin.

"You'll need someplace to live when you're rich and famous."

"True but does it have to be Hightown with all those stuck up nobles?"

"I'm sure there's prime real-estate down here in Darktown or you can buy one of those factories in Lowtown and live out of that."

"That's disgusting," Bethany interjected.

"Seriously though it's the best place to start. Your family already has a claim to the place and that will save you money when buying it. Really, though I think what you should all do is buy some place in the country with some prime land and build an Estate out there. That would be what I would do but then again, I was never one for living in big cities. I preferred small towns, where you pretty much knew everybody."

Both Bethany and Carver nod their agreement to that. They really did like Lothering even though Carver felt like he was trapped there. He was coming around though and was really just trying to find that one thing he wanted to do.

"Quiet. We're getting close to something." Hawke said then.

We pulled our weapons free as quietly as possible as Hawke opened a hatch above us an inch. She looked around the room before closing it.

"There's two men in the room but they aren't really paying attention. They're too busy talking about their latest batch of slaves." Hawke looked around at all of us before continuing. "We came here for mother to get Grandfather's will but I will not leave people to that fate. We free the slaves and kill every one of these slaver bastards."

There was no disagreement among us. Slavers deserved to die. Plain and simple. Profiting on other people's suffering was down right despicable. Hawke let Aveline take the lead as she could protect us while we climbed up the short ladder. Aveline through the hatch open and issued a challenge to the slavers. Hawke scrambled quickly up the ladder followed closely by Carver. With our heavies in the room, I was next up the ladder with Bethany and Varric following closely on my heals. A couple more slavers had come to help their friends but it was over before I had even had a chance to do anything. I turned and offered a hand up to Bethany and then Varric.

"Alright, stay close and check every room. Who knows where they are keeping these slaves."

We did as Hawke said checking every room as we went. Mostly we only ran across slavers and they were quickly dispatched. All in all, Bethany and myself didn't have much to do. Varric could usually take one out with Bianca while Hawke would deal with the other. We moved quickly through the cellar and made our way to a set of stairs. We went up a floor and it appeared there were more slaves in this area. Hawke motioned to me. I looked around the corner and smirked. There was a group of three with their backs to us well within range. I froze them with a Cone of Cold and then Aveline, Carver and Hawke charged forward. Their deaths were painless ... I think. I could never tell if freezing somebody numbed their body or not. Oh well, those are thoughts for another time. Hawke took point and checked the connecting rooms. She tensed up as she opened one of the doors and I rushed to her side.

***Trigger Warning**

What I saw sickened me. There was a young woman, a girl really no more than 16, whimpering beneath a man. The red-hair, blue-eyed girl punched and clawed at the man. She was a fighter and seeing the sickening display sent me into action. I pulled my dagger free and rushed into the room. I grabbed the man by the hair and pulled him off the girl. Hawke followed and took the girl and shielded her from what I was about to do. The man tried to fight but I violently slit his throat and tossed him to the ground. I kicked him in the ribs for good measure. Carver followed suit when he entered the room and realized what had gone on. Bethany joined her sister in trying to comfort the girl.

I was shaking in my rage. I don't think anybody else was much better. Aveline may have looked better outwardly but I could tell she was pissed too. Aveline grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me away from the monster. He wasn't a man.

"Don't think about it. It will only make things worse. Come on. Help me check these other rooms."

Aveline was smart enough to know that was what I needed. I needed to get away from this room and that monster. He would bleed out without me watching. We went to one of the connecting doors and opened it. Inside there were cages filled with men, women, children, human, elves and even some dwarves.

"Hawke, we need you." I yelled out.

Hawke entered the room with her daggers out. I probably should have worded that better. We needed her lock-picking ability not her daggers. Hawke started opening the cages and letting the people out. They were cramped into those tiny cages with barely any room to move.

"We need to get these people to Anders," I said then. "They'll need healing."

Hawke nodded her agreement and looked to Aveline and Varric.

"Do you mind handling this? Normally, I'd send Bethany but I think that we should finish this as a family."

"Are you sure about this Hawke?" Varric asked. "We could leave them here and come back for them." Hawke was shaking her head before he finished.

"They needed healing now and that poor girl is in no condition to be left alone."

"She won't be leaving," Bethany cut in. "She'll be staying with us. I've already healed her. She only had superficial wounds and is otherwise healthy."

Every eye turned to Bethany and the girl who was clinging to her. The girl showed no intention of letting go of her either and Hawke could see it was either send Bethany with the girl or keep her with us. Hawke was clearly torn. The girl would be a liability when it came to fighting and we would be shorthanded to begin with. I weighed the options myself and then pulled Hawke aside. I didn't want anybody to overhear what I had to say and so spoke in a whisper.

"I'll stay back and keep them safe. You and Carver should be able to handle the front. If we come across a big group I'll simply hitting them with a Blizzard to thin them out some."

"Are you sure? You'll need to keep your eyes open. They're almost guaranteed to have rogues who stick to the shadows." I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yeah, I know but I have some advantages of my own. They won't make it through me."

Hawke looked into my eyes and could see the conviction there. I brought my hand up to her face and brushed across her cheek. Her eyes became half-lidded and I leaned forward touching our foreheads together.

"We'll be fine." I said before giving her a quick kiss. We then turned back to the group. Aveline had begun leading the group out of the room and Varric hung back to see what the plan was.

"She can stay with us. I won't send you back, Bethany." Carver looked unsure of this course though.

"Are you sure, sister? It's not ideal to have to protect an innocent while assaulting this place."

"I know but Sean's promised to keep them safe. That's enough for me." Carver nodded in agreement and gave me a small nod in respect.

"See that you do, my friend." Carver said then.

"Have I ever let you down?" I asked back to which he actually chuckled.

"No, I just don't want today to be the day that changed."

Varric followed the last of the almost-slaves out of the room and Hawke led us in the other direction, further into the Estate. We had to backtrack to the main hall and we systematically checked the rest of the rooms. Hawke would open each door and Carver would go in with his sword out. In this way, we were able to make relatively quick time. We cleaned out several small pockets of slavers but we didn't come across any more slaves. It was quite clear that these slavers had no idea about the Darktown entrance to the Estate. If they did we probably would have been cut down before we made it out of that first room.

We came across another set of stairs and I began to realize just how big the Amell Estate truly was. It was built all the way from Darktown up to Hightown which made the place at least double its size then it appeared in the game. We came across a storeroom with the Amell family crest which conveniently had two hawks or maybe they were eagles on it. Hawke also went through a chest in the corner while Bethany and Carver talked about the family crest. Carver actually seemed a bit more interested in his past then he did in the game. Again, I couldn't help but marvel at the changes in him. He really was a different, much more relaxed guy then he would have been had Bethany died. I left the twins to their musings and joined Hawke by the chest as she pulled a couple of things out.

"What have you got there?" I spoke in a hushed tone.

"A few letters to my father and my mother's betrothal picture. I think Bethany would like the betrothal picture and maybe Carver can get something from the letters. He always looked up to father. I think he was disappointed he wasn't a mage because it meant he couldn't spend as much time with him as he wanted. Even still, he used to watch over Bethany's lessons just to be close to father." She spoke back in a whisper.

"I wish I could have met him." I said then.

"He would have liked you. He might have given you a rough time at first but that would have been only to protect me. We were so much a like." Hawke said sadly with a catch in her voice.

I took Hawke in my arms and hugged her in comfort. It was clear that Hawke missed her father. He was, for all intents and purposes, her role model. Leandra had said how much like her father Marian was. It must have hurt so much especially when she had to put on a brave face for the family. When her father died Hawke wasn't really given much chance to grieve. She had to be strong for everybody else but I would be strong for her. She never had to hide how she truly felt to me. I kissed her forehead then and loosen my grip on her.

"Come on, we've got an Estate to finish clearing." I said then to which she offered me a small smile.

"Thank you," she whispered back.

"Whenever you need me," I responded with a smile of my own.

Hawke took the lead once again and it was clear we were getting near the end of the line. There was one big room ahead of us about the size of the main room in the Estate, that connected to the entrance. We entered the room and were approached by a man in robes. I looked over at Bethany and she nodded. We both knew this was a mage.

"Did that rat, Gamlen send you? I knew we should have ... "

I didn't let him finish his sentence as I froze him on the spot. Bethany hit him with a spirit bolt as Hawke quickly disabled the trap that was between us and him. The slaver mage thawed long enough for a look of complete horror to pass across his face as Carver's giant sword swung towards him. The mage never stood a chance and his head was sent flying.

Slavers poured into the room then since their distraction had been so effortlessly cut down. Bethany sent a fireball flying towards a large group and Hawke and Carver rushed forward into the fray. I stayed close to Bethany and the girl. The slavers that were visible never got close to us as Hawke and Carver were decimating them. I kept my eyes peeled though. I knew that there was at least one assassin in this group. There always was.

It was then that I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I spun to face the threat but there was nobody there. Crap, where did the bastard go? I spun around trying to catch sight of him. With him nowhere in sight I motioned Bethany back into the corner and stepped backwards after her keeping my sword between the two young women and the potential threat. There was no way I was going to let either one of them get hurt. Hawke and Carver were still busy dealing with a handful of slavers so this was up to me to deal with.

From a dark corner a flask was suddenly tossed at my feet. DAMN! Smoke obscured my vision and I was forced to turn from side to side keeping both my shield and Frost Bite ready to deflect. Bethany was shouting at me to get out of the smoke but I knew it was already too late for that. The bastard was closer than I had thought and was just biding his time.

The flash of steel out of the corner of my eye was the only thing that saved me. I got my shield up and knocked the dagger to the side. I followed through with a quick slash with Frost Bite but just as quickly the assassin was gone into the smoke again. This was a waiting game we were playing. I had backup and his were getting decimated. All I had to do was hold the line.

The assassin made a couple more feints and I knew that the bastard was just looking for a crack in my defenses. Suddenly the assassin came at me in a flurry of movement. It seemed he was done playing around. He struck with both daggers which I deflected but he kept coming, pushing me back more and more. Unfortunately, the assassin had thrown the damn flask right between my legs and the smoke was literally all around me. I could hear the others calling out to me but there was really nothing they could do. This battle was between me and the assassin and only one of us was getting out of this smoke alive.

The assassin kept pushing his advantage and I had been cut a few times where my armor didn't cover. He was faster than I was that was for sure. I could feel myself tiring though and I knew if I didn't end this soon it would be me lying in a pool of my blood. My movements became more sluggish as I tried to keep up. Each time he cut me it drained more and more of my stamina. Damn! The bastard was using poison and there was only poison that reacted this way ... Crow Venom!

That's it! NO MORE MR. NICE GUY! The next time the Assassin got close to me I kicked him right between the legs! The assassin doubled over in pain and I followed that up with a head-butt that sent the assassin stumbling back. I then smashed his nose in with the pommel of Frost Bite. The assassin flew through the smoke and landed on the ground with a thud. I stumbled forward and stabbed the assassin through the heart. I yanked Frost Bite out of his chest and then stumbled forward out of the smoke.

I dropped to my knees and face planted into the ground.

"Sean!" Hawke exclaimed and rushed to my side. She turned me over and I got out two words.

"Crow ... venom."

Bethany, was at my side in an instant, with the girl right behind her. Bethany dug through her pouch and pulled out an Elfroot potion. Hawke pulled me into her lap and took the Elfroot potion from Bethany.

"Drink this, Sean." She said and her voice was laced with worry.

She tilted the flask up and slowly began pouring the potion into my mouth. I was dazed but still managed to swallow the contents of the flask. My head cleared a little then and I warmth flooded into me as Bethany went about healing my many cuts. I had a pretty good slash across my cheek that was thankfully under my eye. If he had cut me above my eye the blood would have trickled down and obscured my vision.

It took several minutes before the full effects of the potion hit me and I was fully aware of my surroundings. Not that I was looking at anything except Hawke. I was staring up into those eyes that I could just get lost in.

"Are you with us?" Hawke whispered with worry.

"Yeah," I managed to choke out. Elfroot potion tastes like crap and generally leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. Like all good medicine it's how you know it works. "I feel like crap but I'll be fine."

"You had me worried for a minute there," Hawke laughed but this wasn't a haha funny laugh, this was a scared laugh.

"I had myself worried for a minute there, too. If he hadn't thrown that smoke grenade everything would have been fine but he was too quick to react to in the smoke. He pissed me off with the poison though. So I kicked him in the nuts and head-butted him." I was rambling a bit. Sue me, I just had a near-death experience. I think I was entitled to a bit of rambling after that.

In any event, hearing how the fight had ended had Bethany and Carver laughing. Hawke merely shook her head in exasperation.

"What is it with you and head-butting people?"

"I have a hard head. I always win those battles." I said with a smirk. Okay, I think I might have been a bit concussed. Maybe that assassin had almost as hard a head as I do.

"Alright but please try to limit how often you actually head-butt people. I happen to like you the way you are and wouldn't want your brains to be scrambled."

"Scrambled brains suck," I said then. "You're really pretty, you know that? You're eyes are really pretty, too. They're all shiny and blue. Really blue like glittering gems or something."

Yes, I was definitely concussed and Bethany seemed to agree as she again hit me with a wave of healing energy. The fog that, apparently, had been over my head was gone and I was back to myself and a bit embarrassed by my remarks over the past couple of minutes. Hawke was blushing though so my concussed compliments must have been appreciated.

"You like my eyes?" She asked then. I took her hand in mine and gave it a squeeze.

"I love your eyes. I could get lost in them. I have on a few occasions."

"Thank you." She said then and slowly helped pull me to my feet.

She held on to me to make sure that I had my equilibrium back. We took a tentative step together and, when it was clear that I could walk on my own, she gave me a quick kiss before smacking me in the shoulder.

"Don't ever scare me like that again."

"I'll try but I'm a bit of a klutz."

Hawke laughed and then kissed me again before taking my hand in hers.

"Come on, the vault has to be close." She said to the others.

I walked next to Hawke as we went up a set of stairs to a door. Through the door was the vault. Carver went through the chest and, after several minutes of searching, pulled out the will.

"Got it," he said.

"Good, we should bring these back to mother but first I think we need to stop by the Clinic to see how these slaver's victims are doing and I'd like Anders and Bethany to check Sean out to make sure we didn't miss anything."

"Great, we're going to see my favorite person," I said sarcastically as we made our way back out of the vault and through the Estate.

"Look on the bright side, at least he won't be in lecturing mode." Carver responded.

"Have you ever, actually, dealt with any healers, who weren't your family? All they do is lecture. It's like part of the job description or something."

"It's your own fault," Bethany added, "If you had been quicker you wouldn't have been poisoned." I shot Bethany a look of disbelief.

"Do you not see the smoke? It's a little difficult not getting cut and slashed by daggers when you're surrounded by smoke and you're trying to protect people. I'd think you'd be a bit more grateful that I kept you and your new friend safe."

"I am," Bethany responded, "but you are too important to all of us to go and die on us. You're more family to us than Gamlen."

"That's setting the bar high," I laughed. "Not that the sentiment isn't appreciated."

So we made our way out of the Estate laughing and joking as we went. It had been a good day so far. We got the will for Leandra, we freed people from Slavers and I'm sure Anders was loving the fact that business was booming. We still hadn't found out the girl's name yet but I'm sure Bethany would get it from her in time. The girl simply clung to Bethany's arm like she would protect her from anything that came at them. She had a haunted look in her eyes though and I couldn't say I blamed her either. I couldn't shake the feeling that we had picked up somebody who would be more than just a random person we helped save. Bethany seemed really protective of the girl and made sure to keep her distanced from Carver and myself. I couldn't blame her for that. At the moment, any man could set her off after what was done to her. She would need to be nurtured and supported from here on out and if Bethany was willing to be the one to do it then who was I to deny her that.

It would be interesting to see what happened later tonight when we met up with Fenris ... Ah crap, Fenris. I'm a mage, he hates mages. My day might end up being more painful than I had originally planned. Oh well in times like these you simply had to roll with the punches and it was easier when a beautiful woman like Hawke was at your side.

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**A/N: Wow. Two chapters within a couple days of each other. ****This chapter really seemed to fly off the keyboard. In comparison, I completed this in about a day while chapter 8 took 4 or so. Originally, I had intended to get through Fenris and Isabela's recruitment in this chapter but this chapter pretty much wrote itself. It became clear pretty quickly that unless I wanted to post a 20,000 word chapter that I would have to split it up into more than one chapter.**

**Last chapter I made an unintentional error. Anders wasn't supposed to do Inferno it was supposed to be a Tempest. In fact, I actually wrote that both Anders and Bethany did an Inferno which really is a Firestorm in DA2. Sometimes it's a pain trying to remember which mages can do which spells and what they were called from game to game. I apologize for the error as it was something I should have noticed before I posted.**

**I'd again like to thank everybody who has taken the time to review. It really helps keep the creative juices flowing when you know how much people enjoy the story. I really appreciate the fact that everybody seems to like my style of writing as well as how I portray some characters both those who are directly from the game and the OCs present. So thanks again for all the positive feedback.**


	10. Chapter 10: The Pirate and The Slave

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Dragon Age, Sean and Caress are my own**

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Anders' Clinic was a bit cramped with so many people in it at once. I was forced to sit on the edge of a bed and wait to be checked out until everybody with worse injuries and sickness went first. Which meant I was last. I think this was Anders idea of payback for last night. In any event, I was suddenly reminded of home and hospital waiting rooms except this was dirtier. Much dirtier. If I was vindictive I'd withhold my knowledge of the human body and medicine from him but that would just hurt innocent people.

Anders wouldn't let Bethany help until he was sure she could pass muster. Once she had correctly identified what was wrong with ten people he had let her begin working. The red-haired girl was still at her side and acting as an assistant of course. She would whisper questions and such to Bethany but wouldn't even make eye contact with anybody else.

I was left alone after it became clear that it would take at least an hour before Anders even got around to me. Carver and Varric had went to the Hanged Man for a pint or two and I was really wishing I was with them. Aveline had returned to the Barracks to report the raid on the Slavers. She was hoping to get us a discretionary bounty for taking them down but it was unlikely with Jeven in charge. She had fussed over me a bit before she left and it was uncomfortable to say the least. Aveline doesn't fuss over people like Leandra. She is a lot more vocal in her displeasure and she was sure to lecture me on the carelessness of allowing that assassin to get close enough for his poison to be effective. Apparently, I didn't measure up to her standards and she made me promise that I would join her at the Barracks for a few training sessions before she left me in peace. I really wasn't looking forward to that.

Hawke said she had a few errands to run and that she would be back in an hour or so. She gave me a quick kiss before leaving. No doubt Hawke wanted to get the 15 sovereigns or so that were in the chest. She probably also wanted to head to the Gallows and get the rest of those letters. It didn't bother me that I wasn't there for that. The less time I spent there the better.

No what did bother me was Anders. He had been glaring at me since Hawke left. It was like she was the only thing holding him back. He didn't have any right to judge me or anybody else and if he said anything I'd tell him exactly what he could do with his opinions. This goes without saying but I hate hypocrites and double standards. Anders is full of them. He seems to have this insane notion that what he did with Justice is just fine but even associating with demons in our case and he goes over the top in some sort of self-righteous outrage.

He also seemed intent on making me wait as long as possible. All he needed to do was give me a check up. A minute and he'd be done but he just had to prolong this. No doubt, he was hoping Bethany and the girl would leave when everybody else was fixed up so he could lecture me. That wasn't going to happen and he really should have known better. Did he really think I would let Bethany and this girl leave without protection of some kind. It was protecting the two of them that landed me here in the first place. He had finished up with his final patient and went to help Bethany despite the fact that she had things well in hand. I had enough at that point and jumped to my feet. If he wasn't going to see me then I wasn't going to waste my time.

"Bethany, I'll be waiting outside when you're done here?"

"What do you think you're doing?" Anders responded then.

"I'm done wasting my time. You seem intent on ignoring me until we are alone or some other crap but that's not going to happen. Do you really think I'd let Bethany walk home alone from Darktown? Save the lecture you seem intent on making, check me out and then I'll be on my damn way." Anders opened his mouth to respond by I simply held up my hand.

"Shut it! I really don't give a damn. Whatever you think is you're entitled to say, you are not."

"You're going to hurt her."

"And who the hell are you to say that? You know nothing about me."

"I know you're as good as possessed by a demon."

I took a step towards him and he started to glow blue. Bethany took a step between us.

"This is neither the time nor the place." She said then. I merely glared at Anders who returned it with the full glow of Justice in his eyes. Bethany had placed a hand on each of our chest to keep us separate. I let out a deep breathe and stepped back.

"You're not worth it. People like you never are." I said then and turned and walked out the room.

I walked over to the rail that overlooked the water and leaned against it. I let out a sigh. I shouldn't let that idiot bother me but he seemed to get under my skin. He really didn't see what he did as wrong but simply talk to a demon and it set him off. The only difference between spirits and demons is labels and perception. Caress simply was not a demon. To me demons sought to possess somebody while a spirit did not. A spirit could be benevolent and help people. Justice didn't help anybody. He talked about freeing mages but in the end he made it worse. No doubt the veil between our world and theirs will be torn when the Mage War finally began.

"Are you alright?" A voice asked that I didn't recognize. It was soft and high pitched but you could tell that the person had seen more than anybody should have to suffer. I turned and was surprised to find it was the girl.

"I'm fine. I shouldn't have let him get to me." I chuckled softly. "You know, I should be the one to ask you if you're fine." Her soft, pale features lost what little color they had.

"I'm sorry," I said then. "That was insensitive of me. Let's just start over. I'm Sean ******, it's nice to meet you." I offered her a small bow to which she responded automatically with one of her own, almost as if she had been raised from a young age to respond as such.

"Rhiannon ..." she halted whatever she was about to say. "Rhiannon, just Rhiannon."

I maybe a lot of things but stupid isn't one of them. Whatever she was about to say had been very important. My eyes narrowed as I took in her features. Her red hair was wild and curly and her blue eyes were wide and soft. Her nose was narrow and tapered down to a small mouth will full lips. She had a light smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her build was lean but her arms were slightly defined.

"You are an archer, are you not?" I asked then. She looked slightly surprised at that.

"Yes, it's something my parents had ..." She cut off then and I could see the heartbreak in her eyes. This girl had no family in this world. Not anymore. Whatever happened couldn't have been pretty either. Her eyes were haunted and it made me wonder if being raped was the worst she had to deal with lately.

"I understand. Don't think about it. Whatever happened is in the past and it can only control you if you let it."

"My father used to say such things." She said with the ghost of a smile on her face. "My mother taught me to use the bow. She felt that a woman should always know how to defend herself."

"That was wise of her." I responded but her face was bitter.

"Not that it helped me when they stripped me of my weapons. If there wasn't so many of them," She finished harshly. I didn't know whether she was blaming herself for letting them take her weapons or if she was mad that it took so many of them to subdue her.

"Nothing can change what happened. Those men who hurt you are dead. They can never hurt you again."

"Not all of them," she said darkly.

"Look Rhiannon, I can't say I know what you're going through but I understand losing everything. A little over a year ago, I was in your position. I had lost my life, my family, everything I had ever known and loved. It was gone in an instant. In a lot of ways, I'm still looking for answers but I've come to realize that it is not as important as it once was. I've found a reason to go on and live. You can too, if you want to."

Rhiannon was looking at the ground when I started my speech but by the end she was looking back at the Clinic and towards where we could hear Bethany laying into Anders.

"Do you think so?"

"I know so. Hawke ... she helped me. She was there for me through everything. It didn't matter whether I was depressed or angry or simply lost. She was there for me. For a long time she was my best friend and now ... well now she's everything." I finished softly.

"You remind me of my parents. The way you look at her and she looks at you reminds me of what they had. I miss them." She looked up at me then. "Don't ever let her go."

I smiled softly and responded, "I won't. I'd be lost without her."

Rhiannon joined me at the rail and looked out in the magic-made harbor. From here we could see the Gallows and several ships making their way to the docks.

"Well, isn't this quite the sight," A voice said with a playful lilt. We turned to Hawke.

"Hawke, allow me to introduce Rhiannon. Rhiannon, this is my beautiful girlfriend Marian Hawke."

"Pleased to meet you, Rhiannon," Hawke then turned to me. "So did you check out alright?" I snorted in response. Hawke didn't looked pleased about that but Rhiannon stepped in.

"It's not his fault. That man ignored him for over an hour and when he was done he ignored him until Sean had enough. When Sean got up to leave the Clinic, and wait out here for Bethany and myself, Anders attempted to draw him into a verbal conflict ... about you. Bethany stepped between them but Sean walked away before anything else could happen." Rhiannon explained to Hawke, who looked at me questioningly.

"What am I going to do about the two of you?"

"I'll be fine as long as he learns that I'm not about to sit and listen to one of his hypocritical rants."

"And he's jealous of you," Rhiannon added. This caused both of us to turn to her. She fidgeted a bit, reminding us that she still wasn't completely comfortable with attention. Hawke hummed in thought.

"Still this is worse than what goes on between you and Aveline."

"That's because we have philosophical differences. I believe right and wrong should be judged by the person while Aveline believes in written law. I actually respect Aveline's opinion even if I don't completely agree with it. Anders is judging me based on things I haven't done. Hell, he's judging me on things he has done but refuses to see as wrong. He's holding me to a completely different standard then himself but he considers himself morally right in this case. I can't promise we'll get along but I can work with him. He's not a bad guy just slightly delusional."

"Alright. Well, I think it's time we get out of here. We have a potentially long night ahead of us."

Hawke went into the Clinic to get Bethany but she had a few words for Anders before we left. We made our way out of Darktown and towards our favorite place, The Hanged Man.

* * *

The Hanged Man smelled like it always did. Sweat, piss and stale ale permeated the very air. It was always wise to take a deep breath of fresh air before entering the Hanged Man. It was a rule I lived by. Our first step inside was not what I expected. Instead there was a scuffle taking place by the bar. Hawke stepped closer and I followed while Bethany and Rhiannon made their way up to Varric's room where he was waiting with Carver.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched Isabela single-handedly take on three men. Of course she probably wished she was taking three men on in a completely different way. Isabela ducked one man and he laid the other out with a bottle. Isabela laid into the man with a flurry and soon there was only Lucky to deal with. He reached for his blade but Isabela was much quicker and had her dagger at his throat.

"Tell me Lucky, is this worth dying for?" Lucky and friends quickly departed to Isabela's chuckle. "I thought not."

Isabela went back to her whiskey while Hawke and I shared a look. We walked up to order our drinks and to meet the Pirate Queen. Truthfully, I had been waiting for this moment. For the most part, I liked every companion in DA2 however Isabela was always my favorite.

"You're new around here aren't you? Welcome ... and keep your wits about you. You're nothing but tits and ass to the men in this place. And they won't hesitate to grab at both."

"Speaking from experience are we?" Hawke responded and Isabela chuckled in response.

"After a few broken fingers, here and there, they got the idea. I'm Isabela. Previously Captain Isabela. Sadly without my ship the title rings a bit hollow." She paused briefly before continuing on. "You're Fereldan, aren't you? You have that look about you. I was in Denerim not too long ago. I even met the Heroes of Fereldan ... if you know what I mean."

"What? All of them?" I couldn't help myself from asking to which Isabela chuckled softly.

"Sadly, no. That would have been quite the experience. All that raw energy ..." Isabela trailed off as she shivered in delight at her thoughts. It took her a minute before she got herself back under control. "I have a problem that I could use some help with."

Isabela then proceeded to explain about Hayder and their duel that was supposed to take place later that night in Hightown. Hawke looked thoughtful. If she agreed to help then it would definitely be a long night. Between Isabela and Fenris we'd be spending a great deal of time both in Lowtown and then finally Hightown. Hawke didn't hesitate in smirking.

"I could stand watching your back." Oh! I really didn't know how to think to that.

"I'll bet." Isabela smirked at Hawke and looked her up and down. And you could cut the sexual tension with a knife. Isabela then turned to me and gave me the once over as well.

"Oh, I could have so much fun with the two of you." She said as her smirk widened. Hawke and I shared a wide-eyed look. I think we were both caught off guard with this flirting. This was an entirely different situation than the one with Anders. He centered Hawke out but Isabela had no such standards. She would flirt with the both of us until we inevitably gave in. That was just Isabela's style. Hawke decided to redirect the attention elsewhere.

"As much fun as that sounds, we unfortunately are rather limited on time. We need to take care of something here in Lowtown tonight before we can deal with your problem."

"Can I come?" Isabela asked to our surprise.

"You want to come?" I asked. "It's probably going to involve lots of fighting. We rarely escape a night without being set upon by bandits and thugs."

"Even better. It sounds like being friends with the two of you will be very entertaining." Isabela practically purred her response and the way she send friends and entertaining left little to the imagination of what she really meant.

With that in agreement we made our way upstairs to Varric's room with Isabela accompanying us. She was introduced to the group briefly interrupting Varric chatting with Bethany and Rhiannon. Carver pretty much fell in love with Isabela at first look. That would certainly make things interesting especially if Isabela continued to flirt with Hawke and myself. The next few hours passed relatively quickly as we all seemed to have a pretty good time. Varric had already started calling Bethany my Lady Sunshine and Rhiannon he had dubbed Fire. I wasn't too impressed with that one. It seemed lazy. It's like calling Anders, Blondie and Fenris, Broody. No originality whatsoever. At least mine was pretty cool.

* * *

After enjoying a few drinks and a light meal from the Hanged Man it was finally night and the group of us made our way out in to Lowtown. We could see Anso the second we stepped outside. We made our way to him and Hawke called out to him. Anso jumped in surprise and then panicked thinking he would fall into the sky. Hawke, Varric, Isabela, myself and surprisingly Rhiannon chuckled at the strange dwarf. Bethany merely looked concerned while Carver rolled his eyes. It didn't take long for Anso to explain the situation and Hawke agreed to help him as long as the coin was good. Carver didn't necessarily agree.

"Do we really want to draw the attention of the Templars? It just seems like a foolish risk." He said.

"For the time being, all we are doing is retrieving the Lyrium for Anso. I don't intend to deliver the stuff unless Anso makes us an offer we can't refuse. If that happens, Bethany and Sean will stay behind." Hawke explained. Carver looked between Bethany and myself to see if we would argue with that before he nodded in agreement.

"Very well. Lead on, sister."

We made our way back up the steps towards the Hanged Man and then made our way towards Gamlen's hovel. We were almost passed when Hawke stopped and turned back to us.

"Something doesn't feel right." She then turned and looked at me. "Sean are you getting anything?" She may not have believed the whole part of my magic thing but she never questioned me when I gave her advise based on feelings. Since this was her own it was even easier.

"This is smells. Who would use the Alienage to store lyrium? They'd find a better place then that. This is a trap." I finished and Hawke nodded and looked over at Bethany and Rhiannon.

"Perhaps, it's best if the two of you stay here for now and let us deal with this."

Bethany went to protest but Rhiannon simply laid her hand on her shoulder. Bethany looked into Rhiannon's eyes and there was some sort of silent communication going on between the two. How did they manage that? They'd known each other for hours. Even Hawke and I couldn't just look at each other and know. After several moments, Bethany's shoulders slumped a little and she turned back to Hawke.

"Alright, sister. We will wait here for now but come and get us after you deal with this ambush."

With that Bethany led Rhiannon up to Gamlen's and they went inside. I turned and looked to Hawke.

"Maybe now's not the best time but where exactly is Rhiannon staying? It's not like she's from Kirkwall." I asked Hawke.

"She can take my pallet for now that is if you don't mind company for the foreseeable future." She teased me slightly. Isabela definitely seemed interested now.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" She exclaimed then.

Hawke rolled her eyes in response and motioned for us to follow. So now it was only Hawke, Carver, Varric, Isabela and myself. We made our way into the Alienage warily. Something was definitely not right and Varric pointed out that it was too quiet. We made our way over to the house where the Lyrium was supposedly stored and took our places. Hawke would kick open the door and Varric would stand back and cover us as we made our way inside. Carver would lead the frontal assault even though his large sword was sure to be difficult to wield in such tight confines.

Hawke kicked the door open and Varric took aim. Carver then charged in followed closely by Hawke and Isabela. I was next in the room as Varric followed on my heels. There was nobody in the first room but there was two connecting rooms and Hawke opened the one at the back of the room and was met by a couple rogues. Varric took one down with a bolt from Bianca and Hawke took the other down with skill. Carver meanwhile had opened the other door only to be met by a handful of men. Carver and Isabela enjoyed two of them while I took on one myself. I deflected his first blow with my shield and froze him on the spot. Carver literally shattered the man with his sword but I wasn't happy about it.

"That was my kill, you just stole," I said with mock-anger.

"Be quicker next time," was his response with a smirk on his face. I slugged him in the shoulder while Hawke and Isabela went to open the chest.

"There's nothing here!" Hawke exclaimed then.

"Who put us up to this?" Varric asked.

"It doesn't matter. We need to tell Anso about this." Hawke responded.

"Ah, we're forgetting about the ambush. There is no way this was all of them. I think we're about to be faced with a large group of armed men when we open that door." I added and Hawke looked at me then.

"You have an idea?" She asked.

"Yeah, stay back while I unleash hell." I said with a glint in my eye. Isabela took notice and had to get some sexual innuendo in.

"Oh. Can I watch?"

We all laughed at this before heading towards the door. Sure enough when we stepped outside the courtyard was filled with troupes.

"There's no elf! It was supposed to be an elf!" Exclaimed the woman who led the group. The man next to her didn't really seem to care though.

"It doesn't matter. We were told to take whoever came out of that building," he turned to us then and motioned to his men to draw their weapons. I only smirked in response.

"Didn't your boss ever tell you that it's not smart to corner a mage?"

Several of the men took a brief step back at that but it didn't matter as I unleashed the full furry of my Blizzard. The spell was getting easier and easier to call upon since I, accidentally, used it for the first time. The men were yelling out in pain at the stinging cold while Isabela merely looked excited. Several men stumbled out of the Blizzard but were quickly cut down by either Hawke, Carver or Isabela. When the storm dissipated we charged forward and engaged what was left of the enemy. They still outnumbered us but only by a little and with a group as skilled as ours they were taken care of in no time.

We surveyed the carnage and everybody seemed to appreciate my efforts with the Blizzard. Hawke offered me the usual small smile. I returned it and then we headed out to tell Anso about all that had happened. A man in armor made an appearance then. He took in the destruction left behind us before glaring at us.

"I don't know who you are, friend, but you made a serious mistake coming here! Lieutenant, I want everyone in the cleaning ... NOW!" This guy was definitely not happy about our presence but none of us were worried. I think Isabela was actually turned on even more by all that had happened. She certainly seems to have a bit of a one track mind when it comes to certain things. A man stumbled into the courtyard covered in blood and dropped to his knees in front of his captain, where he bled out. The biggest elf I had ever seen, followed the man down the steps, and made quite the entrance. Fenris, at last, had joined us.

"Your men are dead and your trap has failed. I suggest running back to your master while you can."

"You're going nowhere slave!" The man said then and placed his arm on Fenris' shoulder. Fenris' hand glowed as he spun and punched a hole through the man's chest. HOLY CRAP! I know I shouldn't be surprised but ... DAMN!

"I am not a slave!" Fenris exclaimed. Note to self, never call Fenris a slave ... ever!

Fenris turned to us then and apologized for the deception. He needed help to deal with his former master, Danarius and would pay us for any assistance. Gold makes the world turn, as they say. Despite any anger we might have had over the whole deception bit it was forgotten in the face of sovereigns. With that decided we informed Fenris that we had a duel to take care of in Hightown but that we would met him by Danarius' mansion. Fenris left us, for the time being, to ensure that Danarius didn't escape. We made a quick stop to pick up Bethany and Rhiannon on the way. Rhiannon was probably better off being left behind after the day she had but she had put on Hawke's spare set of leather armor and had somehow found a bow and a quiver full of arrows. She, obviously, wasn't one to be left on the sidelines when something happened. Hawke and I exchanged a look and I knew that I would once again have to keep the two safe. It took us a few minutes walk but we entered Hightown and surprisingly met Aveline, who greeted us.

"Hawke, what's going on?" She asked and was in full guard mode.

"Oh, this and that. You know how it is?" Hawke responded cheekily.

"Hawke, whenever you say something like that it normally means more paperwork for me in the morning."

"Just doing my part to keep the city guard busy." Hawke replied with a smirk.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you. If I'm going to have to write the reports I at least want to know what happened first hand."

Just like that we were walking around with a group big enough to decimate anybody stupid enough to get in our way. We entered the main courtyard at the steps leading up to the Viscount's Keep and next to the Amell Estate.

"This is the place but Hayder's not here."

"Really? You decided to have a duel right in front of the Keep?" I couldn't help but laugh.

"You'd be surprised at how long it takes guards to respond to anything going down here." Isabela responded and I couldn't help but compare it to home. The safest place to break any laws was always right in front of the cop station as strange as that may sound ... not that I ever broke any laws.

We didn't get a chance to discuss it further as a woman led a handful of men out.

"That's her. Kill her!"

Really? Did she not see how badly outnumbered they were? This battle wasn't even worth remembering. I literally sat twiddling my thumbs while Rhiannon and Varric each took down a man before anybody even engaged. Hawke, Isabela and Carver disposed of the others in no time. Aveline looked as bored as I was after that exchange.

"Check the bodies. Maybe they have information about where Hayder is." I sighed at this and Hawke was quick to respond.

"Wouldn't it have been better if we had left one alive to question?"

"Probably. HA! Got it. They're in the Chantry." Bethany sighed at this.

"How many people are we going to end up killing there? It's supposed to be a place of refuge."

"Look on the bright side, Sunshine, at least this while they'll be quick to join the Maker's side." This actually got a giggle out of Bethany.

Isabela didn't want to waste anytime and we were soon following her to the Chantry. We rounded the corner and were immediately set upon. This battle was better. I got to participate in this one. Of course they all seemed intent on getting to Bethany and her raw power. Rhiannon had her dagger out as she was protecting Bethany from the other side while I dealt with another man intent on her. I cut the head off the man I was engaging and then froze the man Rhiannon had been fighting. She slit his throat with a fierce cry and sheathed her dagger. She pulled her bow free and began firing shots off at those who had attempted to swarm Aveline. Not that Aveline really needed the help. Varric was picking people off with Bianca while Hawke, Isabela and Carver were dealing with their own group. There was too many of them though and they were pushed back a bit. The enemies were also bunched together. It was then that I noticed the man sneaking up behind Hawke. I let out a yell and froze him on the spot. I ran forward and sent his head flying with one blow from Frost Bite. I joined Hawke and engaged the others who sought to overwhelm her. We shared a quick look before returning our attention to these hired thugs.

After a few minutes, we finally dealt with the last of them and Isabela led us up the stairs and into the Chantry. We really were making a bad habit of killing people in the Chantry and I'm pretty sure that's sacrilege or something. There was a large group of armed men and women waiting for us and at their head was Hayder. He and Isabela traded barbs before Hawke cut him off.

"Your threats end here!" See even though Hawke is generally fun loving and sarcastic she also has a mean streak in her. Slavers should be wary of mentioning their business in her presence. Isabela had tossed a dagger into Hayder's female Lieutenant and that started the fun.

Hayder was good but Isabela was better. The two squared off as the rest of us dealt with Hayder's men. More were pouring in behind us and I sent a Chain Lightning into the mass of them. Varric and Rhiannon fired hails of arrows at them significantly cutting their numbers. Bethany added a Firestorm to the mix and the reinforcements were decimated. Hawke, Carver and Aveline were each dealing with one of Hayder's Lieutenants. Hawke cut into her opponent with a series of slashes that there was no way he could keep up with. The man was stunned for a second before he realized his throat had been slit. He bled out before he even hit the ground. Aveline used her shield to smash the other Lieutenant into submission before driving her sword through his chest. Carver literally cut the poor bastard he was dealing with in half. Note to self, do not fight somebody wielding a great sword with nothing but light leather armor standing in the way.

Hayder, himself, was done for. Isabela was enjoying herself too much to simply kill the guy. I almost felt sorry for him. He knew he had nowhere to go and that he had no help to fall back on. The rest of watched Isabela as she got the duel she had originally wanted from Hayder. Eventually, she grew tired of the game as Hayder was exhausted from trying to keep up with her. Isabela kicked his knee causing it to buckle and then grabbed him in a headlock. She whispered something in his ear before stabbing him in the back.

Isabela began rifling through Hayder's things while I helped Carver go through the rest of the dead for their valuables. I had found out rather quickly that I had no apprehension of taking from the dead especially those who were foolish enough to attack us. While we were doing that Hawke and Isabela talked things over. Aveline shifted a little when they got to the part about the slaves. All in all, Isabela decided she had so much fun so far that she would hang around with us.

"I think I'll tag along for awhile. There might be something I could do for you. And I have a room at the Hanged Man if you're looking for company later," She said that last bit while looking at Hawke and then very deliberately at me. "The three of us could have so much fun together."

The others took that about how you'd expect. Aveline looked like she wanted to stab Isabela, Bethany looked a little sick, Rhiannon was neutral about it all, Carver was not happy and Varric had a smile on his face and was barely holding in his laughter.

"We'll have to discuss that at another time but I have no doubt," Hawke was being diplomatic on the subject but there was a hint of her being flirty there. Okay, I think I needed to have a talk with Hawke. I wasn't going to argue with her but I really needed to know if I was going to be tormented by this daily. She was certainly putting me in a mood and we hadn't even been together yet in that way.

"Come on, we need to go deal with that elf, Fenris' problem."

Hawke led us out of the Chantry and we made our way through Hightown. Thankfully, the mansion was close by and we didn't run into any of the Guardsmen Pretenders. It had actually been a relatively quiet night on that front.

Fenris was waiting for us just outside Danarius' mansion. He was leaning against the wall but pushed off of it when we showed up.

"Good you came. There's been no activity so Danarius has to still be inside."

We followed Fenris into the mansion and what we encountered then was not pleasant. For the first time we had to deal with shades. Most of our weapons turned out to be relatively useless in this fight but Bethany and myself were particularly successful with our magical attacks. Bethany killed the first 4 with a fireball directly between them. The next were tougher but after sustained damage from the two of us they eventually fell. I could see Fenris eying the two of us but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

The rest of the mansion was much the same. We encounter more Shades and even had to deal with a couple of Rage Demons. Finally we made our way to the main bedroom on the top floor. When we unlocked it there was no sign of Danarius however an Arcane Horror and even more Shades did appear behind us. I hit two of the Shades with a Cone of Cold that allowed Carver to deal with them. Bethany had again dispatched hers relatively quickly with more fireballs. The Arcane Horror was particularly difficult. No matter what Bethany or I did it just kept coming. Hawke and Isabela had been cutting it left and right to no avail. Varric and Rhiannon's bolts and arrows were also pretty useless. In the end, it took Fenris doing his glowy fist thing through the chest to finally kill it.

With all the enemies taken care of Fenris went outside and let us loot the place for valuables. It seemed like a good night monetarily as we had several sovereigns between the lot of us. After taking our time searching through the mansion we finally joined Fenris outside.

"It never ends. I escaped a land of dark magic only to have it hunt me at every turn. It is a plague burned into my flesh and my soul. And now I find myself in the company of more mages. You harbor vipers within your midst." Fenris said then much to my displeasure.

"You can talk to us. We are right here you, know."

"I say next time we let him deal with the shades and demons, Bethany." Bethany laughed a little at this.

"Bethany and Sean are stronger than you think."

"You tell him, sis."

"Aw, she does love me." I then looked to Fenris who didn't seem to understand my humor in the situation. The others were laughing though.

"Before you judge us maybe this would go a lot smoother if you knew that we already freed a group of slaves just this morning. We aren't exactly after anything except the right to live free."

"I've seen much that mages have done in the name of survival. I will watch you carefully." Fenris said then and I pushed off of the wall I was leaning against.

"And I refuse to be treated as a criminal for my birth! I don't have to justify a damn thing to you, you self-important idiot. Maybe you should go hang out with Anders, the two of you are so very much a like in judging people for things they have not done."

Fenris took a step back at my rant. He obviously didn't think I would take offense to his attempted invasion of privacy.

"I apologize if I seem ungrateful." I snorted at this and Hawke shot me a look begging me to be quiet.

Hawke then worked things out with Fenris asking him if he would have a problem with mages to which he said he would watch us closely. I threw my hands up in the air and watched away but not before getting in the last word.

"Watch yourself because I will not be gawked at like some freak. If I catch you invading my privacy we will have more than words. That I promise you."

I walked away before he could say anything in response. Carver, Bethany and Rhiannon were quick in joining me. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who was displeased with the newest addition to the group. After several minutes, Hawke and the others joined us but Hawke motioned to me away from the others. When we were alone she didn't look happy.

"What was that all about? I was smoothing things over and you proceeded to make it worse."

"Make it worse? I will not have him watching me like he's some damn Templar surrogate. I don't care what he has lived through that doesn't give him free reign to go sniffing around mages because they make him uncomfortable. We are people too and he needs to realize that."

"You're sounding a bit like Anders there with his freedom for mages talk and it worries me." I chuckled a little at this.

"What you're afraid I'm going to join his little revolution? Not likely. You've got nothing to worry about there. I just want to be left in peace. If somebody threatens that peace I will defend it." Hawke nodded at this in thought.

"Alright, I see your point."

"Good. The last thing I want is for you to be against me on this. He's not wrong that he was treated badly but he is misplacing the blame. He sees mages as being solely responsible for his plight but in reality it is people and society. He doesn't seem to realize that not one single person we dealt with tonight had magic. There are a lot of bad people that enable slavery to happen. Tevinter is not filled only with mages and the people there let it happen. What's the alternative though? The Chantry. That's not a solution to mages and it shouldn't be to anybody else. It's just more slavery but people are quick to overlook that. Only mages are blamed for slavery in this world and the slavery they are subjected to is completely overlooked by the common people. Maybe there is a middle ground but war will come before that happens and I have no doubt that it will be here in Kirkwall where it starts. Especially if Knight-Commander Meredith stays in charge."

"Are you sure you're not joining a revolution?" I chuckled softly at this and pulled Hawke to me in an embrace.

"I'd much rather live at your parents did then drag you into a war with me. No, I'm content with just the two of us." I lost myself in her eyes and then kissed her. We could have been robbed and we never would have noticed with how lost in each other we were.

"Just the two of us, huh?" She asked then.

"Well sure, for now. I don't think we're quite ready for anything more just yet."

"Not even Isabela?" Hawke joked and I shook my head.

"I'm happy with you. Just you, that's all I need." I finished with a small smile.

"You sure know how to make a girl feel loved." She said with a small smile of her own.

We shared another quick kiss and then returned to the others. It was an eventful night and we all needed some much need rest before we made our trek out into the countryside. Aveline left us in Hightown and the rest of us made our way home. We all split up at the Hanged Man going our separate ways. Varric and Isabela went into the Hanged Man while Carver, Bethany and Rhiannon turned left to head to Gamlen's. Hawke and myself went to the right as it was a little quicker despite being pretty much directly behind the Hanged Man.

* * *

**A/N: As you can all see, I have introduced a new character into this story. Rhiannon's not really new, though and I'm sure some of you will figure it out before I finally reveal her identity. As I've explained to a few reviewers, I have planned this story out beyond DA2 and into the Mage/Templar war. With that in mind there will be more than just Zevran, Leliana and Alistair making appearances from Origins. **

**I'd once again like to thank everybody for their reviews and positive feedback it is very much appreciated.**


	11. Chapter 11: Bandits and Dragons

**Disclaimer: Bioware owns Dragon Age, I'm just having some fun with it**

* * *

We woke with the sun the next day and for the second consecutive day Hawke woke me up with a kiss. Let me tell you, I never want to go back to alarm clocks. Back in my old life I'd start the day off grumpy and miserable but now I wanted to get up and out of bed and it was all because of Hawke. Well maybe I could do without getting out of bed but that was another matter entirely. Nothing happened last night. We just slept. We weren't really in any rush as far as that went and to be honest my hovel wasn't exactly the most romantic of places. I'd rather take Hawke out somewhere in the country and have a little romantic getaway for that. No family or friends and most importantly no interruptions. That's what I wanted. I was inclined to believe that Hawke felt the same.

We ate breakfast with the rest of the Hawke family and Rhiannon and then packed up our gear. Leandra ensured that we had fresh food for the rest of the day. Even with my suggestion of purchasing an extra tent it looked like we would need another as Rhiannon would be accompanying us. Neither Hawke or Carver was sure that was a good idea but Bethany stood up for the girl. I had to again promise Hawke and Carver that I would make sure that nothing happened to either girl. After we had our packs all sorted out Leandra fussed over us all before she let us head to the Hanged Man. We made a quick stop along the way and picked up another tent that we were sure to need. When we arrived at the Hanged Man Varric and Isabela were already waiting ... and drinking. Apparently they don't feel it is ever to early to imbibe.

We were sitting at one of the tables in the main room waiting for the rest of our friends. Okay, maybe not friends in all cases but they were at the very least our companions. Aveline was the first to arrive she was followed almost immediately by Fenris who had agreed to come with us the night before. Fenris, Isabela and Varric ate breakfast while the rest of us waited. When they finished we decided that we would be leaving whether Anders showed up or not. We divvied up our gear further from our packs to make sure that everybody was carrying roughly the same amount of weight. Aveline, Carver and myself had the heaviest packs but that was most likely a temporary situation. We left the Hanged Man and headed for the gates out of Kirkwall.

* * *

A little over an hour later we had left Kirkwall behind us. We found a good place to set our things down for a minute to plot our course. We had decided that the Bone Pit would actually be the quickest to get to first by going through the Wounded Coast from there we could make our way to the Dalish and finally finish off with Aveline's ambush site. We were all more than a little surprised to find Anders running up the road behind us. He came to a stop in front of us.

"Sorry I'm late. I had a patient come in this morning that needed my attention."

"That's alright, you didn't miss anything. Do you need to take a break?" Hawke asked.

"No. The one good thing about being a Grey Warden is the increase in stamina." Really? Can you be any more obvious in your attempts?

"Oh, shivery. It's lost on that one though. She's taken. You can try your charms elsewhere though. I'm Isabela, formerly Captain Isabela." She practically purred to him. She stepped up to him and ran her hands along his chest. She looked up over Anders' shoulder and winked at me. So Bela was on my side in this. Good to know she'll try to keep Anders busy.

"Bone Pit, first Bela. Then you can try to convince him to the other bone pit." I said with a smirk on my face.

We set off with Hawke and myself at the front. We held hands as we strolled along. The Wounded Coast turned out to be relatively uneventful. We dealt with another group of Flint Company mercenaries and while their numbers were greater than in Kirkwall our strength was much greater as well. The addition of Fenris and Isabela was big. They seemed to compliment what we already had as a group and made us that much better. We also traded barbs quite a bit more than you might expect in the middle of a fight. Isabela in particular liked taunting people. The first time I heard her yell out, "Somebody needs a spanking!" I almost died from laughing so hard. Fenris meanwhile acted as another formidable front along with Carver. Between those two our back ranks which consisted of the mages and our archer/crossbowman were able to unleash hell relatively uncontested. Aveline acted as our shield which freed us up to do even more damage for those few who got through. Hawke and Isabela easily picked off those too distracted by our heavy hitters. Not only did we have to deal with the mercenaries but there was also Tal Vasoth and another set of mercenaries who took out a Grey Warden messenger. Hawke picked up the letter of the messenger as she intended to drop it off as directed. It didn't take much to clear our way through the Wounded Coast with the force we had assembled. As we wandered along the coast I noticed many sunken ships and I called over to Isabela.

"So which one's yours? I'm pretty sure we watched your grand entrance into Kirkwall from the cliffs." That caused Isabela to pause up as she obviously didn't want anybody to know about the Qunari part of it. I was alright with keeping her secret for now. After all I had my own.

"I mean we could see that storm and it was vicious. I wish there was something we could have done to help." That caused Isabela to relax and she went about answering.

"It was. Had we been anywhere but Kirkwall we would have survived the storm but the Waking Sea is full of treacherous pits and valleys with rocks jutting up from the bottom but not breaking the surface. I knew we were in trouble but the last wave forced us into the rocks. Sadly, I was at the helm which does hurt my reputation a bit but if I couldn't keep us a float then nobody could. As for my ship, The Siren's Call is nothing but boards and planks now. It didn't survive as these ships have. A little patchwork and most of these are salvageable but not mine." She finished and I could tell she was a little upset. Not at me but at the loss of her ship. She really does view the sea as the greatest form of freedom and since I really did like her I offered my support.

"Well, Isabela I'll do anything I can to help you get another and if this whole Deep Roads thing works out that'll pretty much be a guarantee. Who knows maybe you'll even get steady business in Kirkwall and can visit. I have a feeling Corff will miss your business if you ever leave permanently." I said that last bit with a smile. There was no doubt that both Corff and Madam Lousine would miss Isabela when she was gone for three years. Not if I can help it though. Isabela's too much fun to have gone for that long. Get her the ship early and make sure she has a reason to comeback. That was my plan. As vague as it was.

Isabela chuckled in response, "I'll bet. If you can get me a ship I may even let you control the rudder."

Hawke's head snapped around so fast I heard a loud crack. That's one way of getting out the kinks. "Isabela!" Hawke exclaimed then much to Isabela's delighted as she started laughing.

Isabela then pranced up from behind us and squeezed between the two of us. She draped an arm over both our shoulders.

"Don't you worry, sweet thing. I know he's yours and I'm not in the business of getting between two people ... unless they want me between them."

Hawke and I were wearing identical blushes at that. We looked over at each other and blushed even more. I know Hawke's not a virgin and neither am I but Isabela seems to push all the right buttons. It's also completely different for us because I don't think either one of us had ever felt this way about anybody before. Isabela noticed how uncomfortable we were and her ringing laugh again filled their air.

"You two are just too sweet. Don't ever change."

And with that Isabela dropped back leaving the two of us alone. We shared another glance and then Hawke firmly took my hand as if daring any of our other friends to say something. The ground ahead was starting to rise and we couldn't have been an hour away from the Bone Pit. We decided to take a quick break before we dealt with whatever awaited us there. I had to relieve myself and was surprised to find Anders waiting for me away from the others. I tensed up just waiting for him to say something else about either Caress or my relationship with Hawke, neither of which were any of his business.

"I'm sorry. I was out of line both yesterday and the night before. It's just that sometimes Justice comes out and I can't control him. He says things I would normally never say." The apology caught me off guard but he needed to apologize for just more than that.

"That's fine. I know when you go off on your rants it's Justice talking. He's a bit of a dick by the way. The problem I have is you flirting with Hawke." That actually caused him to stand up with jealousy flitting across his features.

"What's the matter afraid of a little competition?" I laughed in his face.

"You're not competition. We both know that you're a train wreck waiting to happen ... and don't ask what a train is. The fact is that me and Hawke are together. Now you can either respect that and we can work together to fix your little problem ... or you continue to piss me off by flirting with my girlfriend and if that happens I won't pull any punches when the time comes, Anders. You don't want me as an enemy but I won't let you hurt innocent people and that's exactly the path your heading down." That seemed to throw Anders off his game and he barely stuttered out a response.

"Wwh...what are ... you ... talking about?"

"I'm talking about that thing you call a friend that lives in your head and tries to tell you what the 'just' thing to do is. Because here's the thing about sharing a body, Anders. It changes both involved. It's changing you and it's changing Justice. You need to realize that before you do something you won't be able to live with because when that time comes I'll be sure that Hawke knows that death is easy and that living with the consequences of your decisions is the hard thing." I paused briefly and took the glare off my face before giving him a reassuring look.

"I don't want that though. You're not a bad guy, Anders and if you stop trying to force the issue with Hawke I could easily see us being friends. Think on it."

With that I walked away from him and to Hawke who had her back to me. I snuck up behind her and then wrapped my arms around her from behind. She tensed for a split second until she realized who it was then she relaxed in my embrace. She gave me a small smile and we shared a brief kiss. I could feel Anders eyes on my back but didn't let it bother me. He needed to know that neither Hawke nor I appreciated his not so subtle attempts. Hawke then decided it was time to get going and so we all set off on our way.

* * *

An hour later we stood at the entrance to the Bone Pit mines. We had already dealt with the handful of bandits who were stupid enough to attack a group as numerous and as skilled as ours. It turned out that stealing from the dead was profitable as we managed to find almost 2 sovereigns between them. That almost made this entire venture worth it. But only almost though. As cool as dragons are I wasn't exactly looking forward to fighting one. The dragonlings didn't bother me so much but we had a big one coming up.

"The bandits seemed to be staying away from this mine ... maybe they know something we don't?" Isabela said then.

"We don't know what we'll be dealing with in the mines. Maybe the bandits were the real problem but keep your eyes open, just in case." Hawke directed us to which we all nodded in agreement.

Hawke led the way into the mine and we were, almost immediately, attacked by a group of dragonlings. Carver and Fenris rushed forward to meet the initial attack while Varric and Rhiannon fired bolts and arrows. Hawke and Isabela darted in and danced in and attacked the dragonlings from the sides and rear. Anders was firing off spirit bolts while I froze a couple with a cone of cold. Bethany shot a fireball at one that had me shaking my head.

"Don't bother with fire. Dragons are naturally resistance. Stick to cold or spirit spells." I yelled out.

Bethany adjusted her tactics and soon we he had all the dragonlings dealt with. We took stock of our condition and found that other than a few scratches we were alright. Thankfully dragons that young didn't breathe fire yet. After Anders healed our minor injuries we set off and began the long, slow process of clearing out the rest of the mines. Overall, I'd say it took us a good couple hours before we ran into a man named Jansen, who explained the situation. Apparently, there was a really big dragon that needed killing. I knew that but it still didn't make me feel any better about the situation. There was some delay as the others began debating how we were supposed to kill the dragon. I knew how to deal with this problem and I looked to Anders and Bethany.

"How's your mana feel? Think you got enough for the Perfect Storm?"

All conversation ended as every eye in the place turned towards me. Hawke looked mildly concerned as did Aveline. Rhiannon merely looked curious. Varric and Isabela looked amused at the idea. Carver looked bored but Fenris looked like he wanted to kill somebody. Namely me for suggesting it.

"I've got enough for an Inferno," Bethany responded and Anders nodded his agreement.

"As do I for a Tempest." He said then. Hawke looked thoughtful for a second before nodding.

"If you are all sure, then we'll do it. Everybody else stay back while they do what they do best."

"You would trust mages this much?" Fenris hissed out in disgust. Anders opened his mouth to respond but I held up my hand and stopped him in his tracks.

"Hawke leads keep your mouth shut." I hissed to him. I merely crossed my arms across my chest and glared at Fenris. For his part he returned it but Hawke stepped immediately between him and us mages. Carver joined her.

"Let me be very clear, Fenris. If you can't work with mages then you can leave at any time but I will not put up with any derogatory comments to Bethany or Sean simply because you were once a slave. They are not Danarius. Stop judging them on actions that were never theirs."

"Hey, what about me?" Anders spoke up then.

"I think she takes offense to your attempts to flirt, Blondie. Maybe you should try not doing that when she's clearly not on the market." Varric added and Anders slunk back at the back of the group trying to hide.

Oh yeah, this was going really well. It seemed like everybody's issues with each other were about to come out. I simply walked over to Hawke and put my arms around her and whispered in her ear as the arguing started among everybody else.

"Shall we enjoy the show or do you think maybe we should work this out at the Hanged Man once we're back in Kirkwall?" Hawke sighed at this.

"We can't be at each other's throats for the rest of this little venture but now really isn't the time. We simply need to find some common ground."

"Alright, you want me to hand it?"

"By all means." She said with a smile. I gave her a quick kiss before letting her go and stepping in front of her.

"WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT THE HELL UP!" I shouted over their bickering. Every eye in the place turned to me.

"You're acting like a bunch of children. Oh, you were a slave. Oh you're a mage, Oh you're a ... pirate whore ... and you're a damn story-teller that has to embellish everything ... and you're a damn city guard who feels she is always right and never wrong ... and you ... nah, you're cool, Carver." I said with a smirk that he returned. Yeah, Carver's my bro. "And me? I'm a man from another world that has a Desire Demon for a friend, who for some damn reason has no intention of possessing me, and oh yeah, I still don't know how the hell I got here. The point is we're all people, from different walks of life but there is still a damn big dragon out there that needs killing. So I say we get over our damn selves, kill the bastards and then when we get back to Kirkwall get ourselves completely shit-faced at the Hanged Man. Then we'll deal with all our issues when there isn't things try to kill us. Deal?"

Everybody was staring at me and looking completely dumbfounded. Oh yeah, I just dropped the bombshell on everybody else. Hey, if it stopped them from arguing with each other about all there issues then it worked for me. The fact was that I was going to tell everybody in our group regardless but this just sped up the process. Something tells me that Merrill won't be surprised. She'll probably be very happy with that little revelation. Oh well, with the Dalish so close I was going to have to come up with a way to pass on my knowledge of Arcane Warrior without becoming a human pincushion. I've always wanted to say that. I looked around at everybody who were still a bit shell-shocked to be honest.

"Any questions? No. Good. Now lets go kill us a big god damn dragon!" I said with a crazy gleam in my eye as I had channeled my inner Zaeed Massani. Hawke approached me with a slight smile.

"Well said but do you really think it was wise to just drop that on everybody now?" I shrugged my shoulders in response.

"It got them to stop arguing about their own issues. Maybe now they'll focus at the task at hand and realize that they're not the only ones who have had some screwed up crap happen to them. Not that I'm complaining of course. I feel more alive here then I ever did back home." I gave her a meaningful look.

"You're sweet." She said in response and gave me a quick kiss. She then turned and faced everyone else.

"Personal drama over?" She asked everyone who just kind of nodded dumbly. I still can't believe I had struck Varric speechless ... speaking of which.

"Ah, Varric. That part about me ... leave it out of the stories." I was kind of surprised when Varric nodded in agreement.

"Not like anybody would believe it anyways."

With that we headed to through the cavern which would lead us back outside and to the dragon. As we stepped outside we heard a loud roar and the mature dragon came swooping in. Yes, swooping is bad, again. I think this a mature dragon anyways. It was a little on the small side to be a High Dragon. That being said it could still eat me and, it goes without saying that, I don't want to be food. A lightning bolt, a spirit bolt and winter's grasp hit the Dragon all at once causing it to land. Perfect. I drew on my mana and focused the eye of the storm directly over the dragon. Mine would be the most important in keeping the dragon grounded. I released the spell as a Blizzard was unleash on the dragon. Almost immediately after Anders unleashed his Tempest and finally Bethany followed up with an Inferno or Firestorm, call it what you want. It's still damn impressive. The dragon roared in agony as the combined effects of the spell wore it down ... and pissed it off. That was abundantly clear when it shot fire at us causing us to dive away. I found myself lying behind Hawke with my arm draped over her protectively.

"Right, I hadn't really thought about the dragon's response to the Perfect Storm. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. This is no different than dealing with an ogre." She said with a smile but the blood drained from my face.

"You do remember how that ended, right? I had almost forget how painful that was. So thanks for reminding me."

Hawke dashed off with a laugh and entered the fray. I held Frost Bite in one hand and my shield in the other. I continued to hit the dragon with cold spells to keep its movements slow for the others. Rhiannon and Varric weren't having a great deal of success with their arrows and bolts due to the dragons tough hide but one lucky shot jammed into the roof of its mouth and another was embedded in its left eye. That only made dragon more made. Carver and Fenris were attacking from the sides while Isabela and Hawke were doing what they could with their daggers. The dragon roared in frustration and swatted Fenris and then Carver aside. Carver slammed back into the rocks and Anders ran off to heal him.

The dragon spat more fire in our direction when Isabela and Hawke decided to climb up the dragon and get at its head from behind. Isabela lost her balance as the dragon rose off the ground and fell off but not before shredding its right wing with her daggers. Good keep the bastard grounded. The dragon was trying to snap up at Hawke and almost got her. That caused my blood to run cold and I charged forward. Aveline was trying to draw the dragons attention by attacking its legs but was having no effect with her ordinary sword. Frost Bite was far from ordinary though. I slid under its head and stabbed upwards into its throat. My momentum was lost almost immediately and I only cut about a foot across the throat and only an inch or so deep. What I did manage to do was get the dragon's attention. My plans never work out how I pictured them. I got my shield up as the dragon unleashed fire. I could hear Hawke crying out my name but I was so focused on this strange idea that popped in my head that I didn't respond. I simply held Frost Bite out and battled the fire with a cone of cold. I couldn't help but laugh as I had my first shower since entering Thedas. Let me tell you if there is one thing I really miss it's a nice hot shower. This was definitely one of those.

Suddenly the flames stopped shooting at me and the dragon let out a loud roar in pain. It wobbled above me and fell to the side finally dying. I'm just going to assume Hawke killed it. I saw her flip through the air like an acrobat and landed on her feet. All the while I was still laughing my ass off. Hawke rushed to my side with concern etched on her face.

"Where are you hurt?" She said as she slid next to me and checked my face. "You're laughing? Why are you laughing?"

"Do you have any idea how long its been since I've had a shower? An honest to God shower. I haven't felt this clean in over a year."

"Umm... Sean, what's a shower?" I sometimes forgot that Hawke didn't always know what I was talking about.

"A shower is like a waterfall really. Except its controlled and you can adjust the temperature of the water. Really, it's the running water version of a bath."

"Okay. But how did that happen?"

"Well, when the dragon decide the flame broiler Sean was on the menu I combated its fire with a cone of cold. Hence the shower." I sat up then and touched the side of her face. "I'm sorry for worrying you but when I saw that dragon almost take a chunk out of you I lost it. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

"Now you know what I've gone through." She said with a smile.

"Yeah, I'll try to be better about that going forward. I promise." I said and returned the smile. I pulled her up to her feet as I got to mine. Carver came forward then with a smile.

"I got the dragon's fang. Sol should be happy about that."

"Yeah, and it all it took was for me to almost get turned in a Sean-kabob." I said with a slight chuckle. "We definitely have earned a drink for this one alone, eh, Carver?"

"Definitely. So we ready to go?" Carver asked Hawke.

"Yes. We should head to the Dalish. If we're lucky we can get there before nightfall." Hawke responded but it was then that an idea hit me. I had been looking at the dragon thoughtfully and then looked down at my crap armor. I definitely needed an upgrade and I'm sure the others wouldn't mind as well.

"Wait! We can use those dragon scales. They make great armor and all we need to do is find somebody who's willing to work on it. Hell you find the right blacksmith and they'll practically do it for free."

"Are you sure? This will set us back a couple hours at least," Hawke asked to which I nodded.

"Yeah, it'll set us back a bit but not much really. There is no way we're going to go up Sundermount tonight. We'll need to camp out eventually anyways and this way we can take care of a major problem. I don't know how much longer my leathers will survive and dragon scale armor has the bonus of being highly resistant to fire as well as being extremely light weight. It's as much protective as Plate armor without being slowed down. We need this."

Hawke looked me up and down and I could see the agreement in her eyes. My safety being one of her top priorities all but sealed the deal. As it was I was going to have to try and get a temporary replacement.

"Alright, people. You heard Sean rounded up all the dragon scales you can. If we're lucky we'll have enough for everybody."

And so we began cutting off all the dragon scales we could. I really couldn't wait. Put me in that stuff and I wouldn't need to worry about constantly getting myself killed. That assassin wouldn't have stood a chance if I was in that stuff. Yeah, this was going to be good and next up on the agenda was the Dalish and Flemeth's amulet. This would be interesting.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry, for the delay. It was a busier week at work then usual and I've been working on some ideas I have for a Mass Effect story or two. Thanks for the patience on this. I should be back to the regular Wednesday posting with a possible weekend one this week.**


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